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Mishchenko, M.I., L.D. Travis, and J.W. Hovenier, 1999: Introduction to special section: Electromagnetic scattering by nonspherical particles. J. Geophys. Res., 104, 31671-31672, doi:10.1029/1999JD900491.
Quantitative interpretation of remote sensing measurements of aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and particulate surfaces requires accurate knowledge of the interaction of small particles with light and other electromagnetic radiation. Although many natural particles are known to have nonspherical shapes, the convenient availability and simplicity of Mie theory has led to a widespread practice of treating all particles as if they were spheres. However, this approach is rarely chosen after first studying the effect of nonsphericity and concluding that it is negligible. In fact, a vast amount of accumulated evidence suggests that scattering properties of nonspherical particles can differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from those of "equivalent" spheres, thereby significantly affecting the results of remote sensing retrievals.
The major objective of the Conference on Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles: Theory, Measurements, and Applications, held September 29 to October 1, 1998 at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, was to systematically summarize major developments in the field made possible by the rapid advancement of computers and experimental and numerical techniques over the past two decades.
This special section includes original research papers on remote sensing and geophysical applications of electromagnetic scattering by nonspherical particles as well as papers on theoretical and experimental techniques that find applications in geophysics.
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