Abstract

We apply the theory of plane-wave scattering by spheres to calculate the variance, the space–time covariance, and the temporal-frequency spectrum of the amplitude fluctuations of a light wave passing through rainfall. The development includes the effects of various sizes of raindrops and their associated terminal velocities. We show that the time-lagged covariance function of two vertically spaced sensors can provide a practical remote measurement of path-averaged rain parameters, such as drop-size distribution and rain rate, without any assumptions about the form of the drop-size distribution.

© 1975 Optical Society of America

Measurement of rain parameters by optical scintillation

Ting-i Wang, G. Lerfald, R. S. Lawrence, and S. F. Clifford
Appl. Opt. 16(8) 2236-2241 (1977)

Simplified optical path-averaged rain gauge

Ting-i Wang, K. B. Earnshaw, and R. S. Lawrence
Appl. Opt. 17(3) 384-390 (1978)

Measurement of rain parameters by optical scintillation: computer simulation of the correlation method

Ting-i Wang and R. S. Lawrence
Appl. Opt. 16(12) 3176-3179 (1977)

Rainfall-induced optical phase fluctuations in the atmosphere

H. T. Yura, K. G. Barthel, and W. Büchtemann
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 73(11) 1574-1580 (1983)

Optical rain gauge using a divergent beam

Ting-i Wang, R. S. Lawrence, and M. K. Tsay
Appl. Opt. 19(21) 3617-3621 (1980)