While exact methods, such as DDA or T-matrix, can be applied to particles withsizes comparable to the wavelength, computational demands mean that they are size limited. For particles much larger than the wavelength, the Geometric Optics approximation can be employed, but in doing so wave effects, such as interference and diffraction, are ignored. In between these two size extremes there exists a need for computational techniques which are capable of handling the wide array of ice crystal shapes and sizes that are observed in cirrus clouds. The Beam Tracing model developed within this project meets these criteria. It combines aspects of geometric optics and physical optics. Beam propagation is handled by Snell's law and the law of reflection. A beam is divided into reflected and transmitted components each time a crystal facet is illuminated. If the incident beam illuminates multiple facets it is split, with a new beam being formed for each illuminated facet. The phase-dependent electric field amplitude of the beams is known from their ampli- tude (Jones) matrices. These are modified by transmission and reflection matrices, whose elements are Fresnel amplitude coefficients, each time a beam intersects a crystal facet. Phase tracing is carried out for each beam by considering the path that its 'centre ray' would have taken. The local near-field is then mapped, via a surface integral formulation of a vector Kirchhoff diffraction approximation, to the far-field. Once in the far-field the four elements of the amplitude matrix are trans- formed into the sixteen elements of the scattering matrix via known relations. The model is discussed in depth, with details given on its implementation. The physical basis of the model is given through a discussion of Ray Tracing and how this leads to the notion of Beam Tracing. The beam splitting algorithm is described for convex particles followed by the necessary adaptations for concave and/or ab- sorbing particles. Once geometric aspects have been established details are given as to how physical properties of beams are traced including: amplitude, phase and power. How diffraction is implemented in the model is given along with a review of existing diffraction implementations. Comparisons are given, first against a modified Ray Tracing code to validate the geometric optics aspects of the model. Then, specific examples are given for the cases of transparent, pristine, smooth hexagonal columns of four different sizes and orientations; a highly absorbing, pristine, smooth hexagonal column and a highly absorbing, indented, smooth hexagonal column. Analysis of two-dimensional and one-dimensional intensity distributions and degree of linear polarisation results are given for each case and compared with results acquired through use of the Amster- dam Discrete-Dipole Approximation (ADDA) code; with good agreement observed. To the author's best knowledge, the Beam Tracer developed here is unique in its ability to handle concave particles; particles with complex structures and the man- ner in which beams are divided into sub-beams of quasi-constant intensity when propagating in an absorbing medium. One of the model's potential applications is to create a database of known particle scattering patterns, for use in aiding particle classification from images taken by the Small Ice Detector (SID) in-situ probe. An example of creating such a database for hexagonal columns is given.

A queda de granizo é um fenômeno muito recorrente nas tempestades que atingem a Região Sul do Brasil, região do país que registra a maior incidência do fenômeno. Ainda assim, pouca investigação científica foi conduzida até o momento para se compreender as principais características do fenômeno e os mecanismos nele envolvidos. Desta forma, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar, pela primeira vez, uma caracterização da composição microbiológica cultivável do granizo de uma tempestade ocorrida no sudoeste do estado do Paraná. Após terem seus diâmetro, massa e volume mensurados fisicamente, amostras de granizo de uma tempestade ocorrida em julho de 2016 foram submetidas a um protocolo de descontaminação estabelecido neste trabalho, e cultivadas em meio MHA para o isolamento de bactérias. As UFC foram caracterizadas e contabilizadas e os 76 isolados representativos obtidos foram submetidos a análise morfotintorial com a técnica coloração de Gram. Um agrupamento fenotípico utilizando o software UPGMA permitiu a seleção de 22 isolados representativos para serem enviados ao sequenciamento genético. O DNA total destes isolados foi extraído por kit comercial e na sequência foi realizada PCR para amplificação da região 16S de RNA ribossômico (RNAr). O amplicon gerado foi encaminhado para sequenciamento em empresa especializada, e as sequências genéticas obtidas foram submetidas a buscas de similaridades com sequências gênicas presentes no GenBank, por meio do BLAST. Como resultado foram identificadas 11 espécies de bactérias pertencentes a 8 gêneros distintos, todas características de ambiente natural, com predominância de espécies em formato de bacilo, Gram-positivas e formadoras de esporos. Os gêneros Bacillus e Paenibacillus representaram 50% das espécies identificadas e foram apontados em outros estudos como potenciais nucleadores de gelo. Identificou-se ainda o gênero Sporosarcina como o único não encontrado em buscas feitas na literatura para estudos relacionados a amostras de ar, água de nuvem ou granizo. Com relação às propriedades físicas, as pedras de granizo apresentaram diâmetros médios entre 1,15 e 1,75cm, e densidades médias variando entre 0,8 a 1,0g/mL, condizentes com a literatura. Por fim, sugestões para estudos futuros foram apresentadas nas conclusões. / The hailfall is a recurrent phenomenon in storms that reach Brazil´s South Region. Nevertheless, little scientific investigation has been conducted in order to understand the main characteristics and involved mechanisms. Physical, chemical and microbiological characterization of hailstones consists on an important stage to understand processes associated to events that culminate in hail. Thus, this work aims to present, for the first time, a characterization of microbiological composition of hail from a hailstorm occurred in southwestern of Paraná state. Hailstones from a storm occurred in July 2016 were physically characterized (mass, diameter, volume, density), and submitted to a decontamination protocol established in this work. Melt hailstone water was plated to grow in MHA medium for bacteria isolation. We counted and characterized CFU, resulting in 76 representative isolates that were submitted to morphotintorial analysis by Gram stain technique. UPGMA software delivered a phenotypic grouping that enabled the selection of 22 representative isolates to be forwarded to the genetic sequencing service. We extracted total DNA from these isolates by commercial extraction kit and performed a PCR for amplification of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) 16S region. A specialized company provided the genetic sequences to the generated amplicon. The genetic sequences were submitted to BLAST for similarity search in GenBank. As a result, we identified 8 genera and 11 species of environmental bacteria, which were predominantly rod-shaped, Gram-positive, and spore-forming. Bacillus and Paenibacillus represented 50% of the species identified and they were mentioned in other studies as potential ice nucleators. Sporosarcina was the only genus that could not be found in our literature searches regarding air, cloud water or hail samples. Regarding the physical properties, hailstones had average diameters between 1.15 and 1.75cm, and mean densities ranging from 0.8 to 1.0g / mL, consistent with the literature. Finally, we present suggestions for future studies in the conclusion.

This thesis is devoted to the experimental quantitative characterization of the shape and orientation distribution of ice particles in clouds. The characterization is based on measured and modeled elevation dependencies of the polarimetric parameters differential reflectivity and correlation coefficient. The polarimetric data is obtained using a newly developed 35-GHz cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration and scanning capabilities. The full procedure chain of the technical implementation and the realization of the setup of the hybrid-mode cloud radar for the shape determination are presented. This includes the description of phase adjustments in the transmitting paths, the introduction of the general data processing scheme, correction of the data for the differences of amplifications and electrical path lengths in the transmitting and receiving channels, the rotation of the polarization basis by 45°, the correction of antenna effects on polarimetric measurements, the determination of spectral polarimetric variables, and the formulation of a scheme to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Modeling of the polarimetric variables is based on existing backscattering models assuming the spheroidal representation of cloud scatterers. The parameters retrieved from the model are polarizability ratio and degree of orientation, which can be assigned to certain particle orientations and shapes. In the thesis the first quantitative estimations of ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds are presented. Analyzed ice particles were formed in the presence of supercooled water and in the temperature range from -20 °C to -3 °C. The estimation is based on polarizability ratios of ice particles measured by the MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration, manufactured by METEK GmbH. For the study, 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) field campaign were used. Polarizability ratios retrieved for cloud layers with cloud-top temperatures of about -5, -8, -15, and -20 °C were 1.6, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively. Such values correspond to prolate, quasi-isotropic, oblate, and quasi-isotropic particles, respectively. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected shapes with well-known shape{temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found.

<p>Snö har en stor betydelse för oss inom hydrologin samt ekologin. Inom hydrologin har snön inverkan på våra vattendrag under vinter och vår dessutom har den en stor betydande roll för elektricitetsproduktionen via vattenkraft. För ekologin ger snön isolering för växter, marken och skydd för mindre djur arter. Snöförhållanden förklarar också ofta naturkatastrofer, så som lavinrisker och översvämningar i vattendragen. Ökad kunskap om snöegenskaper skulle kunna hjälpa oss att förstå alla ovan nämnda skeenden bättre.</p><p>På Abiskos naturvetenskapliga forskningsstation har det sedan år 1961 till nu gjorts snöprofilsmätningar, där snötäckets egenskaper, tjocklek, snölagrets täthet/hårdhet, snö kristallernas fasthet, snökornens storlek och snöns torrhet uppskattas. Dessa mätningar utgör grunden till denna studie där syftet är att klimatologiskt undersöka den inre snöstrukturen.</p><p>Undersökningen av snöns inre struktur ger oss en tydlig bild av att kategorin is förekommer mycket ofta i snötäcket och att dess tjocklek är mycket tunn. Under de senaste 15-åren (1993-2007) har kategorin is utgjorts till 25% av alla egenskaper i snötäckets översta lager. Vi kan även se att snön har blivit mycket blötare under våren för perioden 1993-2007 (senaste 15 åren) speciellt under maj månad. Att detta är klara och distinkta spår på den ökade lufttemperaturen är det inga tvivel på. Tydliga spår av metamorfosen i snötäcket ses när kategorin mycket lucker och lucker har ökat kraftigt i det understa lagret de senaste åren, något som även förklarar ökade lavinrisker i området.</p><p>Snödjupet har minskat under de senaste 15 åren (1993-2007) under hösten (oktober och november) i jämförelse med de andra två 15-års perioderna (1961-1992), men snölagrets tjocklek har däremot ökat under våren.</p> / <p>Snow is of great importance to our environment in ways such as hydrological and ecological. When speaking in terms of hydrology, snow affects our water streams and has a great influence on hydropower. In ecological purposes, snow is a good isolator for vegetation, soil and it also gives shelter for smaller animals. Snow conditions often explain natural disaster, such as risks for avalanches and submergence in the streams. Understanding the fundamentals of snow properties would give scientist a greater understanding of snow and its effects on our environment.</p><p>Snow profile measurements have been made in Abisko research centre since 1961 until present time. Measurements have been done on snow cover properties, such as the thickness of the snow layer, grain size, snow layer hardness, grain compactness and the dryness of the snow. Collected data from Abisko research centre is the foundation of this study where our objective is to analyze the inner snow structure. This will give us a greater understanding of how snow has been behaving historically.</p><p>Result of this study illustrates that category ice occurs very frequent in the snow cover and its thickness is very thin. During the last 15-years (1993-2007) has the category ice constitute up to 25% of all the properties in the snow cover in the upper layer. We can also see that the snow cover has drastically become more wet during spring specially for the month may and there is no doubt that the increased air temperature is behind it. There are also distinct signs of metamorphoses in the snow cover which can explain the increased risks for avalanches in the area.</p><p>Results also shows that the snow depth has decreased during the last 15 years (1993-2007) in autumn (October and November) in comparison with the other 15-year periods (1961-1992), but on the other hand the snow layer thickness has increased during the spring.</p>

Snö har en stor betydelse för oss inom hydrologin samt ekologin. Inom hydrologin har snön inverkan på våra vattendrag under vinter och vår dessutom har den en stor betydande roll för elektricitetsproduktionen via vattenkraft. För ekologin ger snön isolering för växter, marken och skydd för mindre djur arter. Snöförhållanden förklarar också ofta naturkatastrofer, så som lavinrisker och översvämningar i vattendragen. Ökad kunskap om snöegenskaper skulle kunna hjälpa oss att förstå alla ovan nämnda skeenden bättre. På Abiskos naturvetenskapliga forskningsstation har det sedan år 1961 till nu gjorts snöprofilsmätningar, där snötäckets egenskaper, tjocklek, snölagrets täthet/hårdhet, snö kristallernas fasthet, snökornens storlek och snöns torrhet uppskattas. Dessa mätningar utgör grunden till denna studie där syftet är att klimatologiskt undersöka den inre snöstrukturen. Undersökningen av snöns inre struktur ger oss en tydlig bild av att kategorin is förekommer mycket ofta i snötäcket och att dess tjocklek är mycket tunn. Under de senaste 15-åren (1993-2007) har kategorin is utgjorts till 25% av alla egenskaper i snötäckets översta lager. Vi kan även se att snön har blivit mycket blötare under våren för perioden 1993-2007 (senaste 15 åren) speciellt under maj månad. Att detta är klara och distinkta spår på den ökade lufttemperaturen är det inga tvivel på. Tydliga spår av metamorfosen i snötäcket ses när kategorin mycket lucker och lucker har ökat kraftigt i det understa lagret de senaste åren, något som även förklarar ökade lavinrisker i området. Snödjupet har minskat under de senaste 15 åren (1993-2007) under hösten (oktober och november) i jämförelse med de andra två 15-års perioderna (1961-1992), men snölagrets tjocklek har däremot ökat under våren. / Snow is of great importance to our environment in ways such as hydrological and ecological. When speaking in terms of hydrology, snow affects our water streams and has a great influence on hydropower. In ecological purposes, snow is a good isolator for vegetation, soil and it also gives shelter for smaller animals. Snow conditions often explain natural disaster, such as risks for avalanches and submergence in the streams. Understanding the fundamentals of snow properties would give scientist a greater understanding of snow and its effects on our environment. Snow profile measurements have been made in Abisko research centre since 1961 until present time. Measurements have been done on snow cover properties, such as the thickness of the snow layer, grain size, snow layer hardness, grain compactness and the dryness of the snow. Collected data from Abisko research centre is the foundation of this study where our objective is to analyze the inner snow structure. This will give us a greater understanding of how snow has been behaving historically. Result of this study illustrates that category ice occurs very frequent in the snow cover and its thickness is very thin. During the last 15-years (1993-2007) has the category ice constitute up to 25% of all the properties in the snow cover in the upper layer. We can also see that the snow cover has drastically become more wet during spring specially for the month may and there is no doubt that the increased air temperature is behind it. There are also distinct signs of metamorphoses in the snow cover which can explain the increased risks for avalanches in the area. Results also shows that the snow depth has decreased during the last 15 years (1993-2007) in autumn (October and November) in comparison with the other 15-year periods (1961-1992), but on the other hand the snow layer thickness has increased during the spring.

L’étude des propriétés et processus microphysiques caractérisant la phase glace permet de mieux définir le rôle des nuages dans le cycle de l’eau et sur bilan radiatif de l’atmosphère. Les modèles atmosphériques et les codes d’inversion des données de télédétection utilisent des paramétrisations établies à partir de mesures in situ. Ces mesures servent également des besoins industriels en lien avec la problématique du givrage en aéronautique. L’étude présentée se base sur les données de deux campagnes aéroportées réalisées dans le cadre de la collaboration internationale HAIC-HIWC, ciblant les zones à fort contenu en glace que l’on peut observe rau sein des systèmes convectifs à méso-échelle (MCS) tropicaux. Sur la question des relations « masse-diamètre » (m - D) d’abord, une nouvelle approche est présentée. Basée sur la résolution d’un problème inverse, elle permet de restituer la masse des cristaux à partir de mesures colocalisées classiques en s’affranchissant de la traditionnelle hypothèse de loi puissance, et montre que cette dernière ne permet pas de représenter correctement les propriétés massiques de populations de cristaux hétérogènes (morphologie et tailles différentes) typiques des MCS. La variabilité horizontale des distributions de tailles permet d’étudier le vieillissement de l’enclume d’un point de vue microphysique et de souligner le rôle essentiel du processus d’agrégation dans l’élimination des petits cristaux apportés dans la haute troposphère par la convection profonde et dans la formation d’agrégats supra-millimétriques, précurseurs glacés des précipitations stratiformes. Les relations m - D restituées permettent d’identifier des régimes microphysiques distincts et ouvre la voie aux développement d’une paramétrisation de la masse volumique des hydrométéores en fonction de critères environnementaux. / The detailed characterization of ice cloud microphysics is key to understand their role in theEarth’s hydrological cycle and radiation budget. The developement of atmospheric models and remote sensingalgorithms relies on parametrisations derived from in situ measurements. These measurements are also usedby the aviation industry to handle the problem of ice crystal icing. This PhD work presents an analysis of themass and size properties of ice crystals observed in high ice water content areas embedded in tropical mesoscaleconvective systems (MCS) during two airborne field campaigns of the HAIC-HIWC international project.A new approach is developped to derive mass-size relationships (m - D) from size distributions and icewater contents. The retrieval is formulated as an inverse problem which waives the power law constraint, aclassical assumption that proves to be an oversimplification when applied to heterogeneous populations of iceparticules typical of MCS anvils.The horizontal variability of size distributions and the aging of MCS anvils is described in terms of microphysicalprocesses. The importance of the aggregation growth process is emphasized as it efficiently removessmall ice particles brought into the upper troposphere by deep convection and significantly contributes to theformation of large agregates, precusor of the stratiform precipitations. The analysis of mass properties revealsthat distinctive microphysical regimes may be identified from the m-D relationship retrieved in various conditions.It paves the way toward a statistical model of the effective density of ice particles as a function of environmentalparameters.

Le phénomène de givrage qui se produit durant les vols d’aéronefs, lors de leurs traversées de la troposphère (zone dans laquelle la température peut descendre jusqu’à -60°C) se manifeste par une accrétion de glace sur différentes parties de l’appareil (voilures, réacteurs, sondes de mesure…) mettant en péril la sécurité de celui-ci. Ce phénomène constitue alors une problématique majeure pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile, c’est pourquoi il est nécessaire de développer de nouvelles techniques de mesure afin de détecter et d’éviter les zones à risques. Notre intérêt s’est porté sur l’imagerie interférométrique en défaut de mise au point, une technique optique offrant de nombreux avantages (large champ de mesure, gamme de tailles étudiée étendue [50 μm : quelques millimètres], distance particule/appareil de mesure de plusieurs dizaines de centimètres…). Au cours de ces travaux de thèse, nous avons développé un dispositif d’Imagerie Interférométrique de Particules (IIP) multi-vues permettant de caractériser les cristaux de glace en suspension dans latroposphère. En effet, par comparaison avec des mesures obtenues sur des images nettesenregistrées simultanément, nous avons validé l’utilisation de l’IIP multi-vues pour l’estimation dedimensions de particules de glace avec un taux d’erreur inférieur à 20%. Nous avons égalementproposé différentes approches permettant d’estimer les volumes des particules de glace et mis enévidence la « signature » typique d’une gouttelette en cours de givrage à partir d’images d’IIP.Dans une seconde partie, nous avons validé l’utilisation de l’IIP multi-vues pour le cas complexe oùles interférogrammes d’une paire de particules de glace proches l’une de l’autre se recouvrent etdiscuté des phénomènes de Moiré qui peuvent apparaître et perturber nos mesures. En outre, nousavons étendu le domaine d’utilisation de l’IIP à des milieux moins dilués. Enfin, dans une dernière partie, nous avons développé un dispositif expérimental innovant nous permettant d’effectuer des mesures d’IIP expérimentales à partir de particules « programmées » sur une matrice de micro-miroirs (DMD). / The icing phenomenon that occurs during aircraft flights during their troposphere crossings (an area where the temperature can drop to -60 ° C) is manifested by an accretion of ice on different parts of the apparatus (wings, reactors, measurement probes ...) endangering the safety of this latter. This phenomenon is therefore a major problem for the safety of civil aviation, that's why it is necessary to develop new measurement techniques to detect and avoid risk's areas. Our interest has been on interferometric out-of-focus imaging, an optical technique offering many advantages (wide measurement field, range of studied sizes extended [50 μm: a few millimeters], distance particle / measuring device several tens of centimeters ...). During this thesis, we have developed a multi-view Interferometric Particle Imaging (IPI) device to characterize suspended ice crystals in the troposphere. Indeed, by comparison with measurements obtained on in-focus images recorded simultaneously, we have validated the use of multi-view IIP for the estimation of ice particle dimensions with an error rate lower than 20%. We also proposed different approaches to estimate ice particle volumes and highlighted the typical "signature" of a droplet during icing from IIP images.In a second part, we validated the use of multi-view IIP for the complex case where the interferograms of a pair of ice particles close to each other overlap and discuss about Moiré phenomena that may appear and disrupt our measurements. In addition, we have extended the field of use of IIP to less diluted media. Finally, in the last part, we have developed an innovative experimental device allowing us to perform experimental IIP measurements from particles "programmed" on a matrix of micro-mirrors (DMD : Digital Micromirror Device).

This thesis is devoted to the experimental quantitative characterization of the shape and orientation distribution of ice particles in clouds. The characterization is based on measured and modeled elevation dependencies of the polarimetric parameters differential reflectivity and correlation coefficient. The polarimetric data is obtained using a newly developed 35-GHz cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration and scanning capabilities. The full procedure chain of the technical implementation and the realization of the setup of the hybrid-mode cloud radar for the shape determination are presented. This includes the description of phase adjustments in the transmitting paths, the introduction of the general data processing scheme, correction of the data for the differences of amplifications and electrical path lengths in the transmitting and receiving channels, the rotation of the polarization basis by 45°, the correction of antenna effects on polarimetric measurements, the determination of spectral polarimetric variables, and the formulation of a scheme to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Modeling of the polarimetric variables is based on existing backscattering models assuming the spheroidal representation of cloud scatterers. The parameters retrieved from the model are polarizability ratio and degree of orientation, which can be assigned to certain particle orientations and shapes. In the thesis the first quantitative estimations of ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds are presented. Analyzed ice particles were formed in the presence of supercooled water and in the temperature range from -20 °C to -3 °C. The estimation is based on polarizability ratios of ice particles measured by the MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration, manufactured by METEK GmbH. For the study, 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) field campaign were used. Polarizability ratios retrieved for cloud layers with cloud-top temperatures of about -5, -8, -15, and -20 °C were 1.6, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively. Such values correspond to prolate, quasi-isotropic, oblate, and quasi-isotropic particles, respectively. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected shapes with well-known shape{temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found.:1 Introduction 2 Formation and development of ice particles: Laboratory studies and remote observations 2.1 Heterogeneous ice formation in the atmosphere 2.2 Laboratory investigations of ice crystal development 2.3 Polarimetric radar observations of ice microphysics 2.3.1 Polarimetry in weather radar networks 2.3.2 Polarimetry in cloud radars 2.3.3 Polarization coupling 2.4 Aims and scientific questions 3 Effects of antenna patterns on cloud radar polarimetric measurements 3.1 Measurements of complex antenna patterns 3.1.1 Problem definition 3.1.2 Measurement description 3.1.3 Results of antenna pattern measurements 3.2 Correction of LDR measurements 3.3 Discrimination between insects and clouds 4 Cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid mode 4.1 Implementation and phase adjustment 4.2 Processing of the coherency matrix 4.3 Correction of the coherency matrix for differences of channels 4.4 The coherency matrix in the slanted basis 4.5 Correction for the antenna coupling 4.6 Spectral polarimetric variables 4.7 Sensitivity issue 5 Shape and orientation retrieval 5.1 Backscattering model 5.2 Retrieval technique 5.3 Case study 6 Shape-temperature relationship of pristine ice crystals 6.1 Instrumentation and data set 6.2 Examples of the shape retrieval 6.2.1 Case 1: 12 October 2014, 15:00-16:00 UTC 6.2.2 Case 2: 18 October 2014, 01:00-02:00 UTC 6.2.3 Case 3: 20 October 2014, 18:00-19:00 UTC 6.2.4 Case 4: 10 November 2014, 02:00-03:00 UTC 6.2.5 Case 5: 7 November 2014, 20:00-21:00 UTC 6.3 Comparison of shape with laboratory studies 6.4 Orientation of pristine ice crystals 7 Summary and outlook Bibliography List of Abbreviations List of Symbols