Computation of Solar Radiative Fluxes by 1D and 3D Methods Using Cloudy Atmospheres Inferred from A-train Satellite Data

The main point of this study was to use realistic representations of cloudy atmospheres to assess errors in solar flux estimates associated with 1D radiative transfer models. A scene construction algorithm, developed for the EarthCARE satellite mission, was applied to CloudSat, CALIPSO, and MODIS satellite data thus producing 3D cloudy atmospheres measuring 60 km wide by 13,000 km long at 1 km grid-spacing. Broadband solar fluxes and radiances for each (1 km)2 column where then produced by a Monte Carlo photon transfer model run in both full 3D and independent column approximation mode (i.e., a 1D model)