Retrieving microphysics of cirrus clouds from lidar-radar and depolarization ratios

摘要

Simultaneous measurement of lidar and radar signals returned from the same cirrus clouds is a prospective method for retrieving the cloud microphysics, i.e. size and shape of the ice crystals constituting the cloud. In this study, the ratio of the backscattered signals of lidar and radar called the lidar-radar ratio has been calculated for the first time for typical shapes of ice crystals and wide distribution of the crystals over their sizes. It is shown that it is the lidar-radar ratio that is most sensitive to crystal sizes while the lidar depolarization ratio is most sensitive to crystal shapes.