Enhanced inversion accuracy of aerosol backscatter coefficient based on simple de-noising operation

•A simple de-noising operation is implemented to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.•The operation avoids the subjectivity of the iterative number of iteration method.•The more accurate aerosol backscatter coefficient could be obtained in the near ground (< 2 km).•A higher effective detection altitude is obtained with the simple de-noising operation. The de-noising of lidar signal, especially for the range-dependent systematic noise, always affects the signal-to-noise ratio of lidar signal and the inversion accuracy of aerosol backscatter coefficient. To avoid this issue, a simple de-noising operation is implemented to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and obtain a more accurate aerosol backscatter coefficient. Theoretically, the subjectivity of the iterative number of iteration method can be avoided by the simple de-noising operation. And the feasibility of the simple de-noising operation is investigated by simulation and the routine lidar experimental data. In the near ground, the aerosol backscatter coefficient with higher accuracy of about 4–10 times could be obtained with the simple de-noising operation, compared with the traditional de-noising operation. Moreover, the long-term stability of the range-dependent systematic noise can be found by the experimental results, which avoids the frequent measurement of the systematic noise. In addition, a higher effective detection altitude is obtained with the simple de-noising operation.