The optical parameters of a red blood cell suspended in the blood plasma and, namely, the scattering and absorption cross sections and the scattering phase function describing the small-angle distribution of the scattered light are calculated. Dependence of the optical parameters on all possible values of size, shapes, orientations, hemoglobin concentration, and oxygenation degree is considered. The data are calculated with the so-called straight-ray approximation. The accuracy of the approximation is estimated by comparison with the Mie theory. © 1998 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

The problem of light scattering by ice crystal particles whose sizes are essentially larger than the incident wavelength is divided into two parts. First, the scattered field is represented as a set of plane-parallel outgoing beams in the near zone of the particle. Then, in the far zone the scattered field is represented as a result of both diffraction and interference of these beams within the framework of physical optics. A proper ray-tracing algorithm for calculation of the amplitude (Jones) scattering matrix is developed and applied. For large particles, a number of reduced Mueller matrices are introduced and discussed, since the pure Mueller matrix obtained from the Jones matrix becomes a rather cumbersome and quickly oscillating value. Backscattering by hexagonal ice crystals, including polarization properties, is considered in detail.

Light backscattering by randomly oriented hexagonal ice crystals of cirrus clouds is considered within the framework of the physical-optics approximation. The fine angular structure of all elements of the Mueller matrix in the vicinity of the exact backward direction is first calculated and discussed. In particular, an approximate equation for the differential scattering cross section is obtained. Its simple spectral dependence is discussed. Also, a hollow of the linear depolarization ratio around the exact backward direction inherent to the long hexagonal columns is revealed.

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We investigated the use of backscatter properties of atmospheric ice particles for space-borne lidar applications. We estimated the average backscattering coefficient (β), backscatter color ratio (χ), and depolarization ratio (δ) for ice particles with a wide range of effective radii for five randomly oriented three-dimensional (3D) and three quasi-horizontally oriented two-dimensional (2D) types of ice particle using physical optics and geometrical integral equation methods. This is the first study to estimate the lidar backscattering properties of quasi-horizontally oriented non-pristine ice crystals. We found that the χ–δ relationship was useful for discriminating particle types using Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data. The lidar ratio (S)–δ relationship, which is determined using space-borne high-spectral-resolution lidar products such as EarthCARE ATLID or future space-borne lidar missions, may also produce robust classification of ice particle types because it is complementary to the χ–δ relationship.

A general view of the backscattering Mueller matrix for the quasi-horizontally oriented hexagonal ice crystals of cirrus clouds has been obtained in the case of tilted and scanning lidars. It is shown that the main properties of this matrix are caused by contributions from two qualitatively different components referred to the specular and corner-reflection terms. The numerical calculation of the matrix is worked out in the physical optics approximation. These matrices calculated for two wavelengths and two tilt angles (initial and present) of CALIPSO lidar are presented as a data bank. The depolarization and color ratios for these data have been obtained and discussed.

Some extinction laws for radiation transmitted through inhomogeneous random media were discussed by Kostinski [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 18, 1929 (2001)] by means of a complicated use of concepts of statistical theory of fluids. We show that these extinction laws are readily obtained in terms of classical probability theory. The validity of exponential extinction laws for large observation distances (as compared with the size of inhomogeneities of a medium) is proven and emphasized. It is shown that Kostinski's results turn out to be applicable to small observation distances only, for which the concept of extinction law is hardly applicable.