A new 1D approximation for the solution of 2D radiative transfer problems

Abstract

Abstract The simplified M-1D algorithm (M stands for modified) for the calculation of horizontal distribution of reflected brightness coefficient in 2D regions with large homogeneous pixels is presented. This algorithm is based upon modified 3⁎N−1 1D-transport equations (where N is the number of large pixels) instead of one 2D-transport equation, usually used in such problems. The method does not rely on empiric assumptions on both optical properties of atmosphere or diffuse radiation intensity. Numerical results demonstrating the accuracy of the presented algorithm for simulating brightening and shadowing effects in a vicinity of the jump of optical properties given. The accuracy of the M-1D approximation strongly depends on the geometry and illumination conditions. However, it remains below 15% and can reach 1% for all cases studied and is strongly higher than the accuracy of usually employed independent pixel approximation. Time reduction via replacing 2D problem via modified 1D problem is about 17 times for all cases considered in this paper.