Cloud attenuation

cloud attenuation

Usually, the attenuation of microwave radiation by clouds.

For the centimeter wavelength band, clouds produce Rayleigh scattering. The attenuation is due largely to scattering, rather than absorption, for both ice and water clouds. The cloud attenuation for one-way transmission is

where M (g m⁻³) is the liquid water content, ρ (g cm⁻³) the density of water, λ the wavelength, and

, where m² is the complex dielectric constant. The attenuation depends only on M, and in the range of wavelengths from 1 to 10 cm is approximately (1 to 100) × 10⁻²M for water clouds, and (2 to 20) × 10⁻²M for ice clouds.

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1. (Also called extinction, especially in reference to optical frequencies.) A general term used to denote a decrease in signal strength in transmission from one point to another.