Testing of the Modified Anomalous Diffraction Approximation with T-Matrix Calculations for Hexagonal Columns

In the treatment of ice cloud radiative properties, two approaches have been taken: 1) parameterization of exact results from electro-dynamic scattering theory in terms of bulk microphysical properties (e.g., ice water content and effective size), and 2) parameterization of electrodynamic scattering theory itself in terms of explicit microphysical properties (e.g., size distribution parameters, ice crystal mass, and area relationships). The strength of the first approach lies in the single particle calculations while the strength of the second approach lies in the explicit coupling of microphysical and radiative properties. This study tests the second approach regarding the accuracy of ice crystal single scattering properties.