Particle Size Truncation Effect on the Inference of Effective Particle Diameter

The effective ice crystal particle diameter (De) of cirrus clouds can be inferred by comparing the measured radar / lidar backscattering ratio with the theoretically calculated one. The calculated ratios are based upon assump-tions of ice crystal particle density and size distribution, and it will be affected by the artificially assumed particle size ranges. This size truncation effect on the inference of effective particle diameter will be investigated theoretically by assuming the cirrus ice particle spherical and particle density of 0.9g / cm3. Results show that the truncation at large particle end has very small effect on the inference of De , but the truncation at the small particle end will have some ef-fect on the inference of De.