Cloud Optics

Clouds affect the climate of the Earth, and they are an important factor in the weather. Therefore, their radiative properties must be understood in great detail. This book summarizes current knowledge on cloud optical properties, for example their ability to absorb, transmit, and reflect light, which depends on the clouds’ geometrical and microphysical characteristics such as sizes of droplets and crystals, their shapes, and structures. In addition, problems related to the image transfer through clouds and cloud remote sensing are addressed in this book in great detail.

This book can be an important source of information on theoretical cloud optics for cloud physicists, meteorologists and optical engineers.

All basic ideas of optics as related to scattering of light in clouds (e.g. Mie theory and radiative transfer) are considered in a self consistent way. Consequently, the book can also be a useful textbook to newcomers to the field.

• Cloud
• Fog
• LED
• Laser
• Transmission
• light propagation
• photon diffusion, scattering, absorption, emission

From the reviews:

"This book was published as volume 34 of the Kluwer/Springer series ‘Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences Library’. … I believe that this book will be a meaningful addition to any research library since it contains a nontrivial collection of useful facts, formulas, and references and is the first research-level specialized monograph on cloud optics and cloud remote sensing. Individual professional researchers should also consider buying a copy of the book for personal use … . The polygraphic quality of the book is excellent." (Michael I. Mishchenko, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, Issue 105, 2007)

• University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

  Alexander A. Kokhanovsky

Education:

PhD: Optics, B. I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk,

Belarus, 1991.

Title of PhD thesis: " The dependence of light scattering characteristics of aerosols and foams on their microstructure.”

Master of Science: Theoretical Physics, Belarussian State University, Minsk, Belarus, 1983.

Title of thesis: "The asymptotic light regime in deep layers of optically active light scattering media.”

Main research areas:

Radiative transfer, multiple and single light scattering, optics of aerosols and hydrosols, foams, snow and clouds, inverse problems, remote sensing of atmosphere and ocean.

Present position:

Senior Researcher

Laboratory of Light Scattering Media Optics

B. I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

Skarina Avenue 72, Minsk 220072, Belarus

November 1983- Present

and

Institute of Environmental Physics and Remote Sensing, Bremen University, Bremen, Germany

March 2001 - Present