The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations (version 2.0.1)

TLDR

libRadtran is a widely used, freely available software package for computing polarized radiances, irradiance, and actinic fluxes across solar and thermal spectra, applied to remote sensing, climate studies, UV forecasting, photolysis calculations, and planetary observations, as described in Mayer and Kylling (2005) and detailed in its user manual. The paper provides an overview of libRadtran version 2.0.1, emphasizing its newly added features. The authors illustrate the new features through example applications. Version 2.0.1 adds polarization, Raman scattering, updated gas absorption, new cloud and aerosol parameterizations, and a user‑friendly GUI that simplifies model use. Abstract.

Abstract

Abstract. libRadtran is a widely used software package for radiative transfer calculations. It allows one to compute (polarized) radiances, irradiance, and actinic fluxes in the solar and thermal spectral regions. libRadtran has been used for various applications, including remote sensing of clouds, aerosols and trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere, climate studies, e.g., for the calculation of radiative forcing due to different atmospheric components, for UV forecasting, the calculation of photolysis frequencies, and for remote sensing of other planets in our solar system. The package has been described in Mayer and Kylling (2005). Since then several new features have been included, for example polarization, Raman scattering, a new molecular gas absorption parameterization, and several new parameterizations of cloud and aerosol optical properties. Furthermore, a graphical user interface is now available, which greatly simplifies the usage of the model, especially for new users. This paper gives an overview of libRadtran version 2.0.1 with a focus on new features. Applications including these new features are provided as examples of use. A complete description of libRadtran and all its input options is given in the user manual included in the libRadtran software package, which is freely available at http://www.libradtran.org.