Implications of a Quadratic Stream Definition In Radiative Transfer Theory

Abstract

All explicit definition of the radiation-stream concept is stated and applied to approximate the integro-differential equaticn of radiative transfer with a set of twelve coupled differential equations. Computational efficiency is enhanced by distributing the corresponding streams in three-dimensional space in a totally symmetric way. Polarization is then incorporated in this model A computer program based on the model is briefly compared with a Monte Carlo program for simulation of horizon scans of the earth's atmosphere. It is found to be considerably faster.