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Sensitivity of the Mueller matrix to the optical and microphysical properties of cirrus clouds

An adding-doubling method is employed to calculate the reflected Stokes
parameters for cirrus cloud layers composed of different habits and effective sizes. The
elements of the Mueller matrix are determined from the reflected Stokes parameters by
considering four different incident polarization states. The sensitivity of these elements is
observed by comparing different ice crystal habits, effective sizes, and optical depth. The
Mueller elements are strongly dependent on habit. The three habits, aggregate, bullet
rosette, and plate, are observed and the
M12/M11,M43/M11 and M44/M11 elements are discussed. The wavelength used is 0.532µm, which is the lidar wavelength used on
the CALIPSO satellite. The linear depolarization ratio is also discussed. The method of
subtracting the two depolarization ratios, is noted as another way to possibly better distinguish ice crystal habits.
The sensitivity of the Mueller matrix to effective size is also observed. For three
size distributions, the Mueller elements indicate no strong dependence. This may be due
to the assumption of randomly oriented ice. Also, using an absorbing wavelength might
provide dependence. Finally, the Mueller elements are dependent on optical depth. For a
greater optical depth, the strength of reflection increases while the polarization decreases.
As the optical depth increases, any peak-like features become non-existent.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4323
Date30 October 2006
CreatorsLawless, Ryan Lee
ContributorsYang, Ping
PublisherTexas A&M University
Source SetsTexas A and M University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeBook, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text
Format10547838 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital

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