scholarly journals Coupling digital terrain to radiative transfer model to assess surface solar radiation at high resolution scale: validation of GIS module r.sun in Galicia

Author(s):  
A. Pettazzi ◽  
S. Salsón
2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1771-1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. van Soest ◽  
L. G. Tilstra ◽  
P. Stammes

Abstract. In this paper we present an extensive validation of calibrated SCIAMACHY nadir reflectance in the UV (240–400 nm) by comparison with spectra calculated with a fast radiative transfer model. We use operationally delivered near-real-time level 1 data, processed with 5 standard calibration tools. A total of 9 months of data has been analysed. This is the first reflectance validation study incorporating such a large amount of data. It is shown that this method is a valuable tool for spotting spatial and temporal anomalies. We conclude that SCIAMACHY reflectance data in this wavelength range are stable over the investigated period. In addition, we show an example of an 10 anomaly in the data due to an error in the processing chain that could be detected by our comparison. This validation method could be extremely useful too for validation of other satellite spectrometers, such as OMI and GOME-2.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3357-3397 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Zawada ◽  
S. R. Dueck ◽  
L. A. Rieger ◽  
A. E. Bourassa ◽  
N. D. Lloyd ◽  
...  

Abstract. The OSIRIS instrument on board the Odin spacecraft has been measuring limb scattered radiance since 2001. The vertical radiance profiles measured as the instrument nods are inverted, with the aid of the SASKTRAN radiative transfer model, to obtain vertical profiles of trace atmospheric constituents. Here we describe two newly developed modes of the SASKTRAN radiative transfer model: a high spatial resolution mode, and a Monte Carlo mode. The high spatial resolution mode is a successive orders model capable of modelling the multiply scattered radiance when the atmosphere is not spherically symmetric; the Monte Carlo mode is intended for use as a highly accurate reference model. It is shown that the two models agree in a wide variety of solar conditions to within 0.2%. As an example case for both models, Odin-OSIRIS scans were simulated with the Monte Carlo model and retrieved using the high resolution model. A systematic bias of up to 4% in retrieved ozone number density between scans where the instrument is scanning up or scanning down was identified. It was found that calculating the multiply scattered diffuse field at five discrete solar zenith angles is sufficient to eliminate the bias for typical Odin-OSIRIS geometries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3235-3261
Author(s):  
Steven Albers ◽  
Stephen M. Saleeby ◽  
Sonia Kreidenweis ◽  
Qijing Bian ◽  
Peng Xian ◽  
...  

Abstract. Solar radiation is the ultimate source of energy flowing through the atmosphere; it fuels all atmospheric motions. The visible-wavelength range of solar radiation represents a significant contribution to the earth's energy budget, and visible light is a vital indicator for the composition and thermodynamic processes of the atmosphere from the smallest weather scales to the largest climate scales. The accurate and fast description of light propagation in the atmosphere and its lower-boundary environment is therefore of critical importance for the simulation and prediction of weather and climate. Simulated Weather Imagery (SWIm) is a new, fast, and physically based visible-wavelength three-dimensional radiative transfer model. Given the location and intensity of the sources of light (natural or artificial) and the composition (e.g., clear or turbid air with aerosols, liquid or ice clouds, precipitating rain, snow, and ice hydrometeors) of the atmosphere, it describes the propagation of light and produces visually and physically realistic hemispheric or 360∘ spherical panoramic color images of the atmosphere and the underlying terrain from any specified vantage point either on or above the earth's surface. Applications of SWIm include the visualization of atmospheric and land surface conditions simulated or forecast by numerical weather or climate analysis and prediction systems for either scientific or lay audiences. Simulated SWIm imagery can also be generated for and compared with observed camera images to (i) assess the fidelity and (ii) improve the performance of numerical atmospheric and land surface models. Through the use of the latter in a data assimilation scheme, it can also (iii) improve the estimate of the state of atmospheric and land surface initial conditions for situational awareness and numerical weather prediction forecast initialization purposes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Badosa ◽  
Josep-Abel González ◽  
Josep Calbó ◽  
Michiel van Weele ◽  
Richard L. McKenzie

Abstract To perform a climatic analysis of the annual UV index (UVI) variations in Catalonia, Spain (northeast of the Iberian Peninsula), a new simple parameterization scheme is presented based on a multilayer radiative transfer model. The parameterization performs fast UVI calculations for a wide range of cloudless and snow-free situations and can be applied anywhere. The following parameters are considered: solar zenith angle, total ozone column, altitude, aerosol optical depth, and single-scattering albedo. A sensitivity analysis is presented to justify this choice with special attention to aerosol information. Comparisons with the base model show good agreement, most of all for the most common cases, giving an absolute error within ±0.2 in the UVI for a wide range of cases considered. Two tests are done to show the performance of the parameterization against UVI measurements. One uses data from a high-quality spectroradiometer from Lauder, New Zealand [45.04°S, 169.684°E, 370 m above mean sea level (MSL)], where there is a low presence of aerosols. The other uses data from a Robertson–Berger-type meter from Girona, Spain (41.97°N, 2.82°E, 100 m MSL), where there is more aerosol load and where it has been possible to study the effect of aerosol information on the model versus measurement comparison. The parameterization is applied to a climatic analysis of the annual UVI variation in Catalonia, showing the contributions of solar zenith angle, ozone, and aerosols. High-resolution seasonal maps of typical UV index values in Catalonia are presented.


2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 1609-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Petrenko ◽  
A. Ignatov ◽  
Y. Kihai ◽  
A. Heidinger

Abstract The Advanced Clear Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) generates clear-sky products, such as SST, clear-sky radiances, and aerosol, from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-like measurements. The ACSPO clear-sky mask (ACSM) identifies clear-sky pixels within the ACSPO products. This paper describes the ACSM structure and compares the performances of ACSM and its predecessor, Clouds from AVHRR Extended Algorithm (CLAVRx). ACSM essentially employs online clear-sky radiative transfer simulations enabled within ACSPO with the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) in conjunction with numerical weather prediction atmospheric [Global Forecast System (GFS)] and SST [Reynolds daily high-resolution blended SST (DSST)] fields. The baseline ACSM tests verify the accuracy of fitting observed brightness temperatures with CRTM, check retrieved SST for consistency with Reynolds SST, and identify ambient cloudiness at the boundaries of cloudy systems. Residual cloud effects are screened out with several tests, adopted from CLAVRx, and with the SST spatial uniformity test designed to minimize misclassification of sharp SST gradients as clouds. Cross-platform and temporal consistencies of retrieved SSTs are maintained by accounting for SST and brightness temperature biases, estimated within ACSPO online and independently from ACSM. The performance of ACSM is characterized in terms of statistics of deviations of retrieved SST from the DSST. ACSM increases the amount of “clear” pixels by 30% to 40% and improves statistics of retrieved SST compared with CLAVRx. ACSM is also shown to be capable of producing satisfactory statistics of SST anomalies if the reference SST field for the exact date of observations is unavailable at the time of processing.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (22) ◽  
pp. 13195-13216 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Alexandri ◽  
A. K. Georgoulias ◽  
P. Zanis ◽  
E. Katragkou ◽  
A. Tsikerdekis ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this work, we assess the ability of RegCM4 regional climate model to simulate surface solar radiation (SSR) patterns over Europe. A decadal RegCM4 run (2000–2009) was implemented and evaluated against satellite-based observations from the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF), showing that the model simulates adequately the SSR patterns over the region. The SSR bias between RegCM4 and CM SAF is +1.5 % for MFG (Meteosat First Generation) and +3.3 % for MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) observations. The relative contribution of parameters that determine the transmission of solar radiation within the atmosphere to the deviation appearing between RegCM4 and CM SAF SSR is also examined. Cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties such as cloud fractional cover (CFC), cloud optical thickness (COT) and cloud effective radius (Re) from RegCM4 are evaluated against data from CM SAF. Generally, RegCM4 underestimates CFC by 24.3 % and Re for liquid/ice clouds by 36.1 %/28.3 % and overestimates COT by 4.3 %. The same procedure is repeated for aerosol optical properties such as aerosol optical depth (AOD), asymmetry factor (ASY) and single-scattering albedo (SSA), as well as other parameters, including surface broadband albedo (ALB) and water vapor amount (WV), using data from MACv1 aerosol climatology, from CERES satellite sensors and from ERA-Interim reanalysis. It is shown here that the good agreement between RegCM4 and satellite-based SSR observations can be partially attributed to counteracting effects among the above mentioned parameters. The potential contribution of each parameter to the RegCM4–CM SAF SSR deviations is estimated with the combined use of the aforementioned data and a radiative transfer model (SBDART). CFC, COT and AOD are the major determinants of these deviations on a monthly basis; however, the other parameters also play an important role for specific regions and seasons. Overall, for the European domain, CFC, COT and AOD are the most important factors, since their underestimations and overestimations by RegCM4 cause an annual RegCM4–CM SAF SSR absolute deviation of 8.4, 3.8 and 4.5 %, respectively.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 499-535
Author(s):  
C. Emde ◽  
B. Mayer

Abstract. A solar eclipse is a rare but spectacular natural phenomenon and furthermore it is a challenge for radiative transfer modeling. Whereas a simple one-dimensional radiative transfer model with reduced solar irradiance at the top of the atmosphere can be used to calculate the brightness during partial eclipses a much more sophisticated model is required to calculate the brightness (i.e. the diffuse radiation) during the total eclipse. The reason is that radiation reaching a detector in the shadow gets there exclusively by horizontal (three-dimensional) transport of photons in a spherical shell atmosphere. In this study the first accurate simulations are presented examplified by the solar eclipse at 29 March 2006. Using a backward Monte Carlo model we calculated the diffuse radiation in the umbra and simulated the changing colors of the sky. Radiance and irradiance are decreased by 3 to 4 orders of magnitude, depending on wavelength. We found that aerosol has a comparatively small impact on the radiation in the umbra. We also estimated the contribution of the solar corona to the radiation under the umbra and found that it is negligible compared to the diffuse solar radiation in most parts of the spectrum. Spectrally resolved measurements in the umbra are not yet available. They are challenging due to the low intensity and therefore need careful planning. The new model may be used to support measurements during future solar eclipses.


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