Scattering properties of sands. 2. Results for sands from different origins.

Mineral sand is a major component of aerosols in the atmosphere. It is necessary to have a laboratory database to interpret the remote sensing measurements of light scattered by such grains. For this purpose, the PROGRA2 experiment is dedicated to the retrieval of polarization and brightness phase curves, in the visible wavelength domain, of various grains that can be found in Earth's atmosphere and in space.

Scattering properties of sands. 1. Comparison between different techniques of measurements.

Measuring linear polarization of light scattered by a cloud of particles can help retrieve their physical properties. We present an extensive study of polarimetric measurements of sand grains that can be found on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Earth. Different techniques of measurements are compared using the Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique nephelometer on the ground and the Propriétés Optiques des Grains Astronomiques et Atmosphériques on the ground and in microgravity during parabolic flights.