Measurements of the Imaginary Part of the Refractive Index Between 300 and 700 Nanometers for Mount St. Helens Ash

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The absorption properties, expressed as a wavelength-dependent imaginary index of refraction, of the Mount St. Helens ash from the 18 May 1980 eruption were measured between 300 and 700 nanometers by diffuse reflectance techniques. The measurements were made for both surface and stratospheric samples. The stratospheric samples show imaginary index values that decrease from approximately 0.01 to 0.02 at 300 nanometers to about 0.0015 at 700 nanometers. The surface samples show less wavelength variation in imaginary refractive index over this spectral range.