Numerical technique for solving the radiative transfer equation for a spherical shell atmosphere

A method for numerically solving the equation of radiative transfer in a spherical shell atmosphere is presented. The method uses a conical boundary and a Gauss-Seidel iteration scheme to solve for all orders of scattering along a single radial line in the atmosphere. Tests of the model indicate an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 1994-03, Vol.33 (9), p.1760-1770
Main Authors: Herman, B M, Ben-David, A, Thome, K J
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:A method for numerically solving the equation of radiative transfer in a spherical shell atmosphere is presented. The method uses a conical boundary and a Gauss-Seidel iteration scheme to solve for all orders of scattering along a single radial line in the atmosphere. Tests of the model indicate an accuracy better than 1% for most Earth-atmosphere situations. Results from this model are compared with flat-atmosphere model results for a scattering-only atmosphere. These comparisons indicate that excluding spherical effects for solar zenith angles greater than 85° leads to errors larger than 5% at optical depths as small as 0.10.
ISSN:1559-128X
DOI:10.1364/ao.33.001760