Abstract
Using light scattering matrix elements measured by a polar nephelometer, a procedure for estimating the characteristics of atmospheric particulates was developed. A theoretical library data set of scattering matrices derived from Mie theory was tabulated for a range of values of the size parameter and refractive index typical of atmospheric particles. Integration over the size parameter yielded the scattering matrix elements for a variety of hypothesized particulate size distributions. A least squares curve fitting technique was used to find a best fit for the experimental measurements. This was used as a first guess for a nonlinear iterative inversion of the size distributions. A real index of 1.50 and an imaginary index of −0.005 are representative of the smoothed inversion results for the near ground level atmospheric aerosol in Tucson.
© 1980 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
M. Z. Hansen and W. H. Evans
Appl. Opt. 19(19) 3389-3395 (1980)
P. T. Walters
Appl. Opt. 19(14) 2353-2365 (1980)
Glenn E. Shaw
Appl. Opt. 18(7) 988-993 (1979)