August 2017
Spotlight Summary by Martin Schnaiter
Simultaneous observation of a glory and in-situ microphysical cloud properties
Although the glory phenomenon is common to all frequent flyers, its formation is still the subject of scientific debates, and lacks a simple explanation. On the other hand, glories can be easily simulated by applying Mie theory for spherical water droplets. The answer to the question why some clouds produce glories and others not is undoubtedly a key to the full understanding of this optical phenomenon.
In this work, Konvar, Laven, and Prabha present the first microphysical characterization of a (natural) glory-producing cloud. An ensemble of liquid water droplets with a narrow size distribution, a relatively low number concentration, and slightly positive Celsius-temperatures was observed in an in situ flight with a research aircraft. The observed glory display (captured during the same flight) could be nicely mimicked by Mie theory based on the measured microphysical data. More of such in situ measurements, preferably with extensive instrumentation (including spectral and polarization resolved light scattering), are necessary to solidify the microphysical facts of the glory phenomenon.
You must log in to add comments.
In this work, Konvar, Laven, and Prabha present the first microphysical characterization of a (natural) glory-producing cloud. An ensemble of liquid water droplets with a narrow size distribution, a relatively low number concentration, and slightly positive Celsius-temperatures was observed in an in situ flight with a research aircraft. The observed glory display (captured during the same flight) could be nicely mimicked by Mie theory based on the measured microphysical data. More of such in situ measurements, preferably with extensive instrumentation (including spectral and polarization resolved light scattering), are necessary to solidify the microphysical facts of the glory phenomenon.
Add Comment
You must log in to add comments.
Article Information
Simultaneous observation of a glory and in-situ microphysical cloud properties
Mahen Konwar, Philip Laven, and T. V. Prabha
Appl. Opt. 56(19) G5-G8 (2017) View: Abstract | HTML | PDF