Optical Properties of Continental Haze and Cumulus and Orographic Clouds Based on Space Shuttle Polarimetric Observations

Polarization has been used by astronomers and astrophysicists for more than 100 years for studies of stellar atmospheres, planetary surfaces, and the interstellar medium. However, its use with experimental data for analyzing the terrestrial atmosphere, clouds, and aerosols from space has eluded applications. Lyot [1] and Dollfus [2], in their seminal planetary research, used polarization to characterize planetary clouds and haze.