Please see attached review

The manuscript focuses on the specifications of an N2O lidar system suitable for agricultural emission concentrations.  It is an important challenge, and the authors make a good description of a proposed system with relatively high technological readiness, though implementation is still a challenge.  The general ideas and concepts seem reasonable and a good contribution to this relatively unexplored issue.

As this is a technological modeling investigation, I have relatively few comments.

Comments:

Terrestrial radiation is used throughout, but it’s unclear – I assume they mean thermal?  That would be more precise.

Line 152:  Is water possible, given the reflections are not diffused in the same was as terrestrial sources?  If this is applicable to water (e.g., wastewater ponds, oceans) then that should be better supported. 

Table 2: What are the thermal conditions assumed for this table?

Line 261:  Are there safety concerns at this wavelength/power that may preclude use in agriculture?

Line 267:  Please provide a citation for the modulated continuous wave approach.

Discussion: A table outlining the technological options, strengths, and weaknesses would be helpful.  

Smaller comment:

Is the instrumentation described feasible to fit into an airplane that can fly that those altitudes and speeds?  This is especially relevant for the instrumentation options that require active cooling.