Summary Results from:

Radiative transfer codes for atmospheric correction and aerosol retrieval: intercomparison study
As they relate to the validation of MOD09

Authors: Svetlana Y. Kotchenova ,Eric F. Vermote, Robert Levy, Alexei Lyapustin

Source: Applied Optics, Vol. 47, No. 13, May 2008

Link to: Access Publication

Abstract:

Results are summarized for a scientific project devoted to the comparison of four atmospheric radiative transfer codes incorporated into different satellite data processing algorithms, namely, 6SV1.1 (second simulation of a satellite signal in the solar spectrum, vector, version 1.1), RT3 (radiative transfer), MODTRAN (moderate resolution atmospheric transmittance and radiance code), and SHARM (spherical harmonics). The performance of the codes is tested against well-known benchmarks, such as Coulson’s tabulated values and a Monte Carlo code. The influence of revealed differences on aerosol optical thickness and surface reflectance retrieval is estimated theoretically by using a simple mathematical approach. All information about the project can be found at http://rtcodes.ltdri.org.