A solution of radiative transfer in isotropic plane-parallel atmosphere by integrating Milne equation

2005 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasuku Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Isotropic Plane ◽  
Plane Parallel

scholarly journals Scale dependence of cirrus heterogeneity effects. Part II: MODIS NIR and SWIR channels

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 12105-12121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Fauchez ◽  
Steven Platnick ◽  
Tamás Várnai ◽  
Kerry Meyer ◽  
Céline Cornet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Thermal Infrared ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Plane Parallel ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Side Illumination

Abstract. In a context of global climate change, the understanding of the radiative role of clouds is crucial. On average, ice clouds such as cirrus have a significant positive radiative effect, but under some conditions the effect may be negative. However, many uncertainties remain regarding the role of ice clouds on Earth's radiative budget and in a changing climate. Global satellite observations are particularly well suited to monitoring clouds, retrieving their characteristics and inferring their radiative impact. To retrieve ice cloud properties (optical thickness and ice crystal effective size), current operational algorithms assume that each pixel of the observed scene is plane-parallel and homogeneous, and that there is no radiative connection between neighboring pixels. Yet these retrieval assumptions are far from accurate, as real radiative transfer is 3-D. This leads to the plane-parallel and homogeneous bias (PPHB) plus the independent pixel approximation bias (IPAB), which impacts both the estimation of top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiation and the retrievals. An important factor that determines the impact of these assumptions is the sensor spatial resolution. High-spatial-resolution pixels can better represent cloud variability (low PPHB), but the radiative path through the cloud can involve many pixels (high IPAB). In contrast, low-spatial-resolution pixels poorly represent the cloud variability (high PPHB), but the radiation is better contained within the pixel field of view (low IPAB). In addition, the solar and viewing geometry (as well as cloud optical properties) can modulate the magnitude of the PPHB and IPAB. In this, Part II of our study, we simulate TOA 0.86 and 2.13 µm solar reflectances over a cirrus uncinus scene produced by the 3DCLOUD model. Then, 3-D radiative transfer simulations are performed with the 3DMCPOL code at spatial resolutions ranging from 50 m to 10 km, for 12 viewing geometries and nine solar geometries. It is found that, for simulated nadir observations taken at resolution higher than 2.5 km, horizontal radiation transport (HRT) dominates biases between 3-D and 1-D reflectance calculations, but these biases are mitigated by the side illumination and shadowing effects for off-zenith solar geometries. At resolutions coarser than 2.5 km, PPHB dominates. For off-nadir observations at resolutions higher than 2.5 km, the effect that we call THEAB (tilted and homogeneous extinction approximation bias) due to the oblique line of sight passing through many cloud columns contributes to a large increase of the reflectances, but 3-D radiative effects such as shadowing and side illumination for oblique Sun are also important. At resolutions coarser than 2.5 km, the PPHB is again the dominant effect. The magnitude and resolution dependence of PPHB and IPAB is very different for visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared channels compared with the thermal infrared channels discussed in Part I of this study. The contrast of 3-D radiative effects between solar and thermal infrared channels may be a significant issue for retrieval techniques that simultaneously use radiative measurements across a wide range of solar reflectance and infrared wavelengths.

The SKN Approximation for Solving Radiative Transfer Problems in Absorbing, Emitting, and Linearly Anisotropically Scattering Plane-Parallel Medium: Part 2

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zekeriya Altac¸
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Incident Energy ◽  
Radiative Heat ◽  
Isotropic Scattering ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Scattering Medium ◽  
Second Order Differential Equations ◽  
Plane Parallel ◽  
Kernel Approximation ◽  
Transfer Problems

The SKN (Synthetic Kernel) approximation is proposed for solving radiative transfer problems in linearly anisotropically scattering homogeneous and inhomogeneous participating plane-parallel medium. The radiative integral equations for the incident energy and the radiative heat flux using synthetic kernels are reduced to a set of coupled second-order differential equations for which proper boundary conditions are established. Performance of the three quadrature sets proposed for isotropic scattering medium are further tested for linearly anisotropically scattering medium. The method and its convergence with respect to the proposed quadrature sets are explored by comparing the results of benchmark problems using the exact, P11, and S128 solutions. The SKN method yields excellent results even for low orders using appropriate quadrature set.

The SKN Approximation for Solving Radiative Transfer Problems in Absorbing, Emitting, and Isotropically Scattering Plane-Parallel Medium: Part 1

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 674-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zekeriya Altac¸
Keyword(s):  
Integral Equation ◽  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Differential Equations ◽  
Order Approximation ◽  
High Order ◽  
High Order Approximation ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Second Order Differential Equations ◽  
Plane Parallel ◽  
Transfer Problems

A high order approximation, the SKN method—a mnemonic for synthetic kernel—is proposed for solving radiative transfer problems in participating medium. The method relies on approximating the integral transfer kernel by a sum of exponential kernels. The radiative integral equation is then reducible to a set of coupled second-order differential equations. The method is tested for one-dimensional plane-parallel participating medium. Three quadrature sets are proposed for the method, and the convergence of the method with the proposed sets is explored. The SKN solutions are compared with the exact, PN, and SN solutions. The SK1 and SK2 approximations using quadrature Set-2 possess the capability of solving radiative transfer problems in optically thin systems.

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