Light Scattering by Ice Crystals: Fundamentals and Applications

Description

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.

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.

'... the book by Liou and Yang is a comprehensive account of light scattering by atmospheric ice crystals and is unique in its combination of breadth and depth of content. It is a must for all graduate students and experts specializing in atmospheric radiation, remote sensing, and climate research and can serve as an essential supplement to the corresponding graduate lecture courses. Owing to the wealth of up-to-date material, this book belongs on the researcher's desk rather than on a library bookshelf.' Michael I. Mishchenko, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 'With the development of increasingly sophisticated scientific and technological capabilities in optics and photonics, it is possible to lose sight of the intricacies of natural phenomena. This book shows, in a clear and accessible manner, the detailed analysis required to understand optical phenomena associated with the scattering of light by ice crystals ... The book is primarily directed at researchers and graduate students in the atmospheric sciences. It is apparent that such an audience will be well served by this masterly exposition. However, those with less specialized interests could also benefit greatly from this book, which carefully presents a number of theoretical frameworks required to gain understanding of the scattering of light.' K. Alan Shore, Optics and Photonics Reviews