A Polarized Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Model for Calculations of Spectra of the Stokes Parameters of Shortwave Radiation Based on the Line-by-Line and Monte Carlo Methods

• Main Authors: Boris Fomin, Victoria Falaleeva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2012-10-01
• Series: Atmosphere
• Subjects: solar radiation; aerosol; polarization; remote sensing; line-by-line model
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/3/4/451

This paper presents a new version of radiative transfer model called the Fast Line-by-Line Model (FLBLM), which is based on the Line-by-Line (LbL) and Monte Carlo (MC) methods and rigorously treats particulate and molecular scattering alongside absorption. The advantage of this model consists in the use of the line-by-line model that allows for the computing of high-resolution spectra quite quickly. We have developed the model by taking into account the polarization state of light and carried out some validations by comparison against benchmark results. FLBLM calculates the Stokes parameters spectra of shortwave radiation in vertically inhomogeneous atmospheres. This update makes the model applicable for the assessment of cloud and aerosol influence on radiances as measured by the SW high-resolution polarization spectrometers. In sample results we demonstrate that the high-resolution spectra of the Stokes parameters contain more detailed information about clouds and aerosols than the medium- and low-resolution spectra wherein lines are not resolved. The presented model is rapid enough for many practical applications (e.g., validations) and might be useful especially for the remote sensing. FLBLM is suitable for development of the reliable technique for retrieval of optical and microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols from high-resolution satellites data.