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Radiative transfer code SHARM-3D for radiance simulations over a non-Lambertian nonhomogeneous surface:
1Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA. alyapust@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov
Applied Optics
|September 25, 2002
Summary
A new radiative transfer code, SHARM-3D, offers significant speed improvements for modeling light in the atmosphere and over surfaces. It achieves over 1% accuracy, making it ideal for remote sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric science
- Radiative transfer modeling
- Remote sensing
Background:
- Accurate modeling of radiative transfer is crucial for understanding atmospheric processes and interpreting remote sensing data.
- Existing radiative transfer codes can be computationally intensive, limiting their application for large-scale or complex surface scenarios.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the performance of the new radiative transfer code, SHARM-3D.
- To assess the accuracy and speed of SHARM-3D compared to established codes like SHDOM.
- To evaluate SHARM-3D's suitability for remote sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Developed SHARM-3D using an exact solution based on the Green's function method.
- Incorporated parameterizations for enhanced computational performance.
- Validated SHARM-3D through extensive comparisons with the rigorous code SHDOM.
Main Results:
- SHARM-3D demonstrates computational speeds 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than SHDOM.
- The code achieves an average accuracy of better than 1% in radiative transfer simulations.
- SHARM-3D effectively models radiance over large, inhomogeneous surfaces for multiple geometries.
Conclusions:
- SHARM-3D is a highly efficient and accurate tool for radiative transfer modeling.
- Its speed and accuracy make it uniquely suited for remote sensing applications in land surface and atmospheric radiation studies.
- The code facilitates advanced analysis of spectral data in visible and near-IR ranges.