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Interpretation of cirrus cloud polarization measurements from radiative transfer theory
Author(s) -
Liou K. N.,
Takano Y.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014613
Subject(s) - ice crystals , radiative transfer , polarization (electrochemistry) , cirrus , ice cloud , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , wavelength , infrared , physics , optics , remote sensing , computational physics , geophysics , geology , atmospheric sciences , chemistry
A theoretical framework has been developed for the computation of polarized radiative transfer involving ice crystal clouds to interpret the polarization pattern observed from space. Based on the limited available observations in near infrared window wavelengths, we demonstrate that the reflected linear or full polarization from sunlight can be employed to discriminate between spherical water droplets (water clouds) and nonspherical ice crystals (ice clouds) in the direction of rainbow angles, about 140° from the sun. In the case of ice clouds, we show that information regarding the ice crystal shape and orientation can be inferred from reflected polarization patterns based on a comprehensive theoretical interpretation.