Abstract
The polarization properties of the backscattering of a lidar pulse from atmospheric clouds have been measured. A linearly polarized signal from a ruby laser at 694.3 nm is transmitted, and the scattering is simultaneously measured on a three-channel receiver that has polarizers oriented parallel, perpendicular, and at 45° to the transmitted polarization. Substantial depolarizations (up to 0.5) are observed, and from the spatial variation of this depolarization the contribution of multiple scattering can be deduced. A wide variation in polarization properties is observed in different cloud types, and the results indicate that polarization signatures could be useful for cloud characterization and classification.
© 1973 Optical Society of America
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