Oral Session 1

A Comprehensive Sensitivity Analysis of Radiative Transfer Solutions for Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Systems

Modern radiative transfer (RT) models with Earth systems applications typically solve the radiative transfer equation in one of Earth’s two dominant media: the atmosphere or the ocean. AccuRT and its associated open source input-generating model Flick were developed to meet the need for an accurate and efficient RT model which has the capacity to couple these two media. In addition, the codes can accept measured and parameterized inherent optical properties (IOPs) as model inputs, including measured volume scattering functions (VSFs), and can vary atmospheric and solar parameters when simulating oceanic radiances. As such, these tools are desirable for the development of reliable satellite remote sensing algorithms for ocean science applications. Here, we present results from a suite of tests performed with the aims of (1) describing and testing the accuracy of simulated radiances resulting from highly forward peaked VSFs which have been fit for model input using a simplified Delta-Fit procedure, (2) determining ideal values and relationships between parameters pertaining to the numerical approximation of input IOPs (such as number of streams and VSF sampling points), (3) exploring the degree to which variables (such as sensor angle and location) affect the accuracy of resulting radiances, and (4) validation of calculated top- and bottom-of-atmosphere reflectances utilizing measured IOPs and radiometric quantities. Through these analyses, we aim to determine the optimal parameters for generating accurate and efficient RT simulation outputs, as well as to demonstrate the high accuracy of modeled reflectances as compared to both in-situ and remotely measured reflectances.

*Shea Cheatham, University of Bergen, Norway, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3121-9180

Daniel Koestner, University of Bergen, Norway, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2252-4847

Børge Hamre, University of Bergen, Norway

Code of Conduct