Lightscatteringisusedinmanyapplications,rangingfromopticalparticlesizing of powders to interstellar dust studies. At the moment there is no a specialized journal aimed at studies of exclusively light scattering problems. Instead, d- ferent aspects of the problem and also di?erent applications are considered in a varietyof specializedjournalscoveringseveralscienti?cdisciplinessuchasch- istry, physics, biology, medicine, astrophysics, and atmospheric science, to name afew. The Light Scattering Reviews (LSR) series started in 2006 with the aim of facilitating interaction between di?erent groups of scientists working in diverse scienti?c areas but using the same technique, namely light scattering, for so- tion of speci?c scienti?c tasks. This second volume of LSR is devoted mostly to applications of light scattering in atmospheric research. The book consists of eight contributions prepared by internationally recognized authorities in cor- spondent research ?elds. The ?rst paper prepared by Howard Barker deals with the recent devel- ments in solar radiative transfer in the terrestrial atmosphere and global climate modelling.
In particular, methods to compute radiative transfer characteristics needed for numerical global climate models are discussed in a great depth. Their de?cienciesareaddressedaswell.Theproblemof3Dradiativetransferincloudy atmospheres, a hot topic in modern climate modelling, is also considered.