ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING CALCULATED FROM PAIR DISTRIBUTION-FUNCTIONS RETRIEVED FROM PLANAR SNOW SECTIONS

Electromagnetic wave scattering in dense media, such as snow, depends on the three-dimensional (3-D) pair distribution function of particle positions, In snow, two-dimensional (2-D) stereological data can be ob tained by analyzing planar sections, In this paper we calculate the vo lume 3-D pair distribution functions from the 2-D stereological data b y solving Hanisch's integral equation, We first use Monte Carlo simula tions for multisize particles to verify the procedure, Next we apply t he procedure to available planar snow sections, A log-normal distribut ion of particle sizes is assumed for the ice grains in snow, To derive multisize pair functions, a least squares fit is used to recover pair functions for particles with sufficient number density and the hole c orrection approximation is assumed for the larger particles, A family of 3-D pair distribution functions are derived, These are then substit uted into dense media scattering theory to calculate scattering, It is found that the computed scattering rates are comparable to those calc ulated under the Percus-Yevick approximation of pair distribution func tions of multiple sizes.