This volume outlines the fundamentals and applications of light scattering, absorption and polarization processes involving ice crystals.

This research volume outlines the scientific foundations that are central to our current understanding of light scattering, absorption and polarization processes involving ice crystals. It also demonstrates how data from satellite remote sensing of cirrus clouds can be combined with radiation parameterizations in climate models to estimate the role of these clouds in temperature and precipitation responses to climate change. Providing a balanced treatment of the fundamentals and applications, this book synthesizes the authors' own work, as well as that of other leading researchers in this area. Numerous illustrations are included, including three-dimensional schematics, to provide a concise discussion of the subject and enable easy visualization of the key concepts. This book is intended for active researchers and advanced graduate students in atmospheric science, climatology, and remote sensing, as well as scholars in related fields such as ice microphysics, electromagnetic wave propagation, geometric optics, radiative transfer and cloud-climate interactions.

To interpret the data from spaceborn lidar measurements, one must have a basic understanding of the backscattering of oriented ice particles. The conventional raytracing method is not applicable to the scattering of light by oriented particles. In this study, the dipole approximation (DDA) method is employed to the scattering of light on oriented hexagonal ice columns and plates with various tilting angles. It is found that the oriented hexagonal ice particles tend to have strong backscattering intensity with low depolarization ratios which are strongly dependant on the tilting angle of oriented particles. The present results show that the effect of particle orientation plays an important role in determining the optical properties of ice clouds consisting of horizontally oriented ice crystals.

Light scattering review (vol 8) is aimed at the presentation of recent advances in radiative transfer and light scattering optics. The topics to be covered include: scattering of light by irregularly shaped particles suspended in atmosphere (dust, ice crystals), light scattering by particles much larger as compared the wavelength of incident radiation, atmospheric radiative forcing, astrophysical radiative transfer, radiative transfer and optical imaging in biological media, radiative transfer of polarized light, numerical aspects of radiative transfer.

A thorough and up-to-date treatment of electromagnetic scattering by small particles.