Enhanced 3D radiative transfer ACM-RT calculations and output for Cole et al., 2022

For the Earth Cloud, Aerosol, Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission there are a number of algorithms used to process the observations.   One of these algorithms, called ACM-RT, is designed to use retrieved geophysical properties to perform forward radiative transfer calculations using 1D and 3D solar and thermal radiative transfer models.  The ACM-RT algorithm is documented in an Atmospheric Measurements and Techniques (AMT) article. 

To illustrate outputs from ACM-RT, including the benefits of 3D radiative transfer, “enhanced” radiative transfer calculations were performed, relative to calculations that would be performed operationally during the EarthCARE mission.  In particular, the 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculations used an increased number of samples to reduce the Monte Carlo uncertainty and calculations were performed for more of the input data.

The relevant publication for these calculations is:

Cole, J. N. S., H. W. Barker, Z. Qu, N. Villefranque and M. W. Shephard : Broadband Radiative Quantities for the EarthCARE Mission: The ACM-COM and ACM-RT Products. Submitted to AMT, November 2022.