Abstract

Monte Carlo techniques have been widely applied in polarized light simulation. Based on different preconditions, there are two main types of sampling strategies for scattering direction: one is the scalar sampling method; the others are polarized sampling approaches, including the one- and two-point rejection methods. The polarized simulation of oceanic lidar involves a variety of mediums, and an efficient scattering sampling method is the basis for the coupling simulation of the atmosphere and ocean. To determine the optimal scattering sampling method for oceanic lidar simulation, we developed a polarized Monte Carlo model and simulated Mie scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and Petzold average-particle scattering experiments. This simulation model has been validated by comparison with Ramella-Roman’s program [Opt. Express 13, 4420 (2005) [CrossRef]  ], with differences in reflectance and transmittance Stokes less than 1% in Mie scattering. The simulation results show these scattering sampling methods differ in runtime, scattering angle distributions, and reflectance and transmittance Stokes. Considering the current simulation accuracy of oceanic lidar, the differences in reflectance and transmittance Stokes are acceptable; thus, the runtime becomes the main evaluation factor. The one-point rejection method and scalar sampling method are preferable for the oceanic lidar polarized simulation. Under complex atmosphere-ocean coupling systems, scalar sampling methods may be a better choice since the calculation process of the sampling is independent of the incident Stokes vector.

© 2023 Optica Publishing Group

Validation of the polarized Monte Carlo model of shipborne oceanic lidar returns

Huixin He, Qi Liu, Junwu Tang, Peizhi Zhu, Shuguo Chen, Xiaoquan Song, and Songhua Wu
Opt. Express 31(26) 43250-43268 (2023)

Simulation of light scattering from a colloidal droplet using a polarized Monte Carlo method: application to the time-shift technique

Lingxi Li, Patrick G. Stegmann, Simon Rosenkranz, Walter Schäfer, and Cameron Tropea
Opt. Express 27(25) 36388-36404 (2019)

Multiple-scattering lidar retrieval method: tests on Monte Carlo simulations and comparisons with in situ measurements

Luc R. Bissonnette, Gilles Roy, Laurent Poutier, Stewart G. Cober, and George A. Isaac
Appl. Opt. 41(30) 6307-6324 (2002)

Symmetry relationships for multiple scattering of polarized light in turbid spherical samples: theory and a Monte Carlo simulation

Soichi Otsuki
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 33(2) 258-269 (2016)

Parallel Monte Carlo simulation algorithm for the spectral reflectance and transmittance of the wind-generated bubble layers in the upper ocean using CUDA

Yu Yang and Lixin Guo
Opt. Express 28(22) 33538-33555 (2020)