27-10-2012, 03:32 PM
Radiative Studies of Planetary Atmospheres
ABSTRACT
Retrieval algorithms and associated software for application to CIRS infrared spectral data have been developed and
coded. A general forward radiative transfer code has been written that runs efficiently on a Macintosh, even at high spectral
resolution (0.5 per centimeter). It makes use of the correlated-k approach for representation of the gaseous absorption and can
include those gases listed in the HITRAN and GEISA atlases, along with collision-induced absorption. Cloud effects are
included as spectrally dependent absorbers. Provision has been made for future extension to include particle scattering in an
n-stream approximation. The primary purpose of the code is to produce synthetic data and to serve as the forward calculating
element in gas and cloud retrieval programs developed for the Mac as well as other platforms. Initial development of
algorithms and production software suitable for application to CIRS data to be obtained from Jupiter, Saturn and Titan has
been completed, and production versions of the software for application to the spectral data are in place. This includes
temperature, gaseous constituent, and cloud opacity retrieval, algorithms that can be applied to both nadir and limb data. This
work has been done as a cooperative effort between Conrath and Matcheva (Cornell), Achterberg (GSFWSSAI), and Flasar
(GSFC).