Light Scattering by Ice Crystals Fundamentals and Applications

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.

Preface; 1. Ice in the Earth's atmosphere; 2. Fundamentals of light scattering by ice crystals; 3. Principle of geometric optics for application to light scattering by ice crystals; 4. Other useful approaches for light scattering by ice particles; 5. Application of light scattering by ice crystals to remote sensing; 6. Application of light scattering by ice crystals to climate studies; References; Index.

Kuo-Nan Liou is a Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and founding director of the Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr Liou has received numerous awards including the 1998 Jule G. Charney Award from the American Meteorological Society, for his pioneering work in the theory and application of radiative transport and its interaction with clouds, and the 2013 Roger Revelle Medal from the American Geophysical Union for outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and Academia Sinica.
Ping Yang is Professor and Head of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the David Bullock Harris Chair in Geosciences, at Texas A & M University, where his research interests cover the areas of remote sensing and radiative transfer. He received the 2013 Ascent Award from the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union of which he is an elected Fellow.