FLUORESCENCE LIDAR MONITORING OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS

Laser-induced fluorescence spectra detected with high-spectral-resolut ion lidar on the facades of the Baptistery and the Cathedral in Parma are presented and discussed. The data show fluorescence features that are due to the stone materials that constitute the coating of the monu ments and to photosynthetically active colonizations on their surfaces . This underlines the feasibility of a remote fluorescence analysis of historic facades. The data were also compared with the fluorescence l idar spectra obtained from similar lithotypes, sampled either in histo ric extraction areas or in sites exploited recently. The results open good prospects for spectral characterization of historic materials and identification of their provenance. (C) 1998 Optical Society of Ameri ca.