INDEX albedo

Because the single-scattering albedo depends sensitively on the imaginary part of the refractive index there has been keen interest in determining optical constants of atmospheric particles. These are used to calculate the important parameters in the heat balance problem for present and predicted aerosol... 

Ferrare R. A., Meffi S. H., Whiteman D. N., Evans K. D., Poellot M., and Kaufman Y. J. (1998b) Raman hdar measurements of aerosol extinction and backscattering 2. Derivation of aerosol real refractive index, single-scattering albedo, and humidification factor using Raman hdar and aircraft size distribution measurements. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 19673-19689. 

It was mentioned in Chapter 4 that aerosol particles scatter and absorb solar radiation. These processes depend upon the concentration, size distribution, form, refractive index and absorption coefficient of the particles, as well as upon the wavelength of the radiation. In the case of water-soluble particles the extinction is also controlled by relative humidity (see Section 4.5). The energy absorbed by particles leads to an increase of temperature, while backscattering produces an energy loss for the system. Sines this energy loss may be characterized by the albedo, it is proposed to examine first the relation between albedo and temperature in surface air. 

The spectral variations of refractive indices significantly influence the color of intensity and polarization [27]. The color as well as the shape of intensity and polarization curves is also sensitive to the refractive index. The refractive index used for these calculations is typical for optically dark materials it is high and has a positive gradient with wavelength. Thus, we conclude that the use of optically bright materials prevented previous researchers from reproducing the observed spectral characteristics of the intensity and polarization as well as the observed low albedo. 

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