Impulse response solution to the three-dimensional vector radiative transfer equation in atmosphere-ocean systems. I....

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Atmospheric Science
• Oceanography

Background:

• Radiative transfer in complex media is crucial for understanding light propagation.
• Accurate modeling of light interaction in coupled atmosphere-ocean systems is challenging.
• Existing methods often lack the comprehensive capability to handle full 3D inhomogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a 3D Monte Carlo code for computing the effective Mueller matrix in inhomogeneous turbid media.
• To establish the impulse response Green matrix concept for characterizing radiative transfer within such media.
• To prepare for integration into a hybrid matrix operator-Monte Carlo method for advanced simulations.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 3D Monte Carlo code within the Radiance in a Dynamic Ocean (RaDyO) project.
• Computation of the complete effective Mueller matrix for any detector position.
• Validation against established methods like the multicomponent approach and spherical harmonic discrete ordinate method.

Main Results:

• The code successfully computes the effective Mueller matrix in complex, inhomogeneous turbid media.
• The effective Mueller matrix is shown to represent the impulse response Green matrix.
• Validation confirms the code's accuracy for plane-parallel and 3D scalar radiative transfer systems.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D Monte Carlo code provides a powerful tool for simulating radiative transfer in coupled atmosphere-ocean systems.
• The impulse response Green matrix offers a novel perspective on light interaction dynamics within turbid media.
• This work lays the foundation for advanced hybrid modeling approaches in geophysical fluid dynamics and remote sensing.