Scattering phase function depolarization parameter model and its application to water droplets sizing using off-axis lidar measurements at multiple angles.

Abstract

The backscattering lidar depolarization parameter D of water droplets contains information on their size that can be directly modeled as a function of the forward-scattering diffraction peak. Using a polarimetric Monte Carlo simulator, water clouds having different extinctions and droplet size distributions are analyzed to estimate their depolarization parameter at various backscattering off-axis angles. It is shown that the depolarization parameter of the polarimetric phase function can be found using off-axis lidar measurements at multiple angles, and that it could be used to estimate the water-cloud droplet size.