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Related Experiment Videos

Coronas and iridescence in mountain wave clouds.

Joseph A Shaw1, Paul J Neiman

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA. jshaw@ece.montana.edu

Applied Optics
|February 7, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Mountain wave clouds often display coronas and iridescence caused by diffraction from ice particles, not just water droplets. These optical phenomena reveal unique quasispherical ice particle sizes and distinct red and blue colors.

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Area of Science:

  • Atmospheric optics
  • Cloud physics

Background:

  • Coronas and iridescence are optical phenomena traditionally attributed to diffraction by liquid water droplets.
  • Understanding particle size distribution is crucial for interpreting these cloud displays.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the nature of cloud-particle distributions in mountain wave clouds.
  • To identify the mean particle sizes responsible for coronas and iridescence in these clouds.

Main Methods:

  • Application of Fraunhofer diffraction theory.
  • Analysis of meteorological data.
  • Interpretation of photographic evidence of coronas and iridescence.

Main Results:

  • Mean particle sizes in observed displays ranged from 7.6 to 24.3 micrometers.

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  • Over 50% of cases indicated diffraction by quasispherical ice particles (approx. 20 micrometers), not liquid water droplets.
  • Observed coronas exhibited dominant red and blue colors, differing from the traditionally cited red and green.

    • Conclusions:

    • Mountain wave clouds can produce coronas and iridescence via diffraction from small, quasispherical ice particles.
    • These ice particles may be unique to mountain wave cloud environments.
    • The findings challenge traditional explanations and highlight the role of ice particles in specific cloud optical phenomena.