Path-tracing Monte Carlo Library for 3D Radiative Transfer in Highly Resolved Cloudy Atmospheres

Interactions between clouds and radiation are at the root of many difficulties in numerically predicting future weather and climate and in retrieving the state of the atmosphere from remote sensing observations. The large range of issues related to these interactions, and in particular to three-dimensional interactions, motivated the development of accurate radiative tools able to compute all types of radiative metrics, from monochromatic, local and directional observables, to integrated energetic quantities. In the continuity of this community effort, we propose here an open-source library for general use in Monte Carlo algorithms. This library is devoted to the acceleration of path-tracing in complex data, typically high-resolution large-domain grounds and clouds. The main algorithmic advances embedded in the library are those related to the construction and traversal of hierarchical grids accelerating the tracing of paths through heterogeneous fields in null-collision (maximum cross-section) algorithms. We show that with these hierarchical grids, the computing time is only weakly sensitivive to the refinement of the volumetric data. The library is tested with a rendering algorithm that produces synthetic images of cloud radiances. Two other examples are given as illustrations, that are respectively used to analyse the transmission of solar radiation under a cloud together with its sensitivity to an optical parameter, and to assess a parametrization of 3D radiative effects of clouds.Comment: Submitted to JAMES, revised and submitted again (this is v2

COMBINED CONDUCTIVE-RADIATIVE HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS IN COMPLEX GEOMETRY USING THE MONTE CARLO METHOD

Deterministic methods are commonly used to solve the heat balance equation in three-dimensional (3D) geometries. This article presents a preliminary study to the use of a stochastic method for the computation of the temperature in complex 3D geometries where the combined conductive and radiative heat transfers are coupled in the porous solid phase. The Monte Carlo algorithm and its results are validated by a comparison with the results obtained with a conventional finite-volume method

Net-Exchange parameterization of infrared radiative transfers in Venus' atmosphere

International audienceThermal radiation within Venus atmosphere is analyzed in close details. Prominent features are identified, which are then used to design a parameterization (a highly simplified and yet accurate enough model) to be used in General Circulation Models. The analysis is based on a net exchange formulation, using a set of gaseous and cloud optical data chosen among available referenced data. The accuracy of the proposed parameterization methodology is controlled against Monte Carlo simulations, assuming that the optical data are exact. Then, the accuracy level corresponding to our present optical data choice is discussed by comparison with available observations, concentrating on the most unknown aspects of Venus thermal radiation, namely the deep atmosphere opacity and the cloud composition and structure

Radiative transfer and spectroscopic databases: A line-sampling Monte Carlo approach

Issu de : Eurotherm conference n° 105 - Computational thermal radiation in participating media V, Albi, FRANCE, 1-3 April 2015International audienceDealing with molecular-state transitions for radiative transfer purposes involves two successive steps that both reach the complexity level at which physicists start thinking about statistical approaches: (1) constructing line-shaped absorption spectra as the result of very numerous state-transitions, (2) integrating over optical-path domains. For the first time, we show here how these steps can be addressed simultaneously using the null-collision concept. This opens the door to the design of Monte Carlo codes directly estimating radiative transfer observables from spectroscopic databases. The intermediate step of producing accurate high-resolution absorption spectra is no longer required. A Monte Carlo algorithm is proposed and applied to six one-dimensional test cases. It allows the computation of spectrally integrated intensities (over 25 cm−1 bands or the full IR range) in a few seconds, regardless of the retained database and line model. But free parameters need to be selected and they impact the convergence. A first possible selection is provided in full detail. We observe that this selection is highly satisfactory for quite distinct atmospheric and combustion configurations, but a more systematic exploration is still in progress

Infra-red collision-induced and far-line absorption in dense CO atmospheres

International audienceCollision-induced absorption is of great importance to the overall radiative budget in dense CO-rich atmospheres, but its representation in climate models remains uncertain, mainly due to a lack of accurate experimental and theoretical data. Here we compare several parameterisations of the effect, including a new one that makes use of previously unused measurements in the 1200 to 1800 cm spectral range. We find that a widely used parameterisation strongly overestimates absorption in pure CO atmospheres compared to later results, and propose a new approach that we believe is the most accurate possible given currently available data

Simulation Monte-Carlo et analyse en puissances nettes échangés des transferts radiatifs infrarouges avec diffusion (vers une paramétrisation dans un modèle de circulation générale atmosphérique)

TOULOUSE3-BU Sciences (315552104) / SudocSudocFranceF

Model of Spectral and Directional Radiative Transfer in Complex Urban Canopies with Participating Atmospheres

International audienceThermal heat transfers, including solar and infrared radiation in cities, are key processes for studying urban heat islands, outdoor human thermal comfort, energy consumption, and production. Thus, accurate radiative transfer models are required to compute the solar and infrared fluxes in complex urban geometry accounting for the spectral and directional properties of the atmosphere and city fabric materials. In addition, these reference models may be used to evaluate existing parametrization models of radiative heat transfer and to develop new ones. The present article introduces a new reference model for outdoor radiative exchange based on the backward Monte Carlo method. The integral formulations of the direct and scattered solar, and the terrestrial infrared radiative flux densities are presented. This model can take into account the ground (e.g., roads, grass), different types of buildings and vegetation (e.g., trees consisting of opaque leaves and trunks) with their spectral and directional (Lambertian and specular) reflectivity of materials. Numerical validations of the algorithm are presented against the results of a state-of-the-art model based on the radiosity method for the particular case of an infinitely long street canyon. In addition, the convergence of urban solar radiation budgets is studied for a selection of urban complex geometries includin

Modeling the phase curve of hot rocky planets with 3D climate models

International audienceUsing a 3D climate model, we study how the apparent emission of a hot terrestrial exoplanet varies with wavelength and orbital phase, for different atmospheric pressures, and inclinations, in the case of a tidally-locked planet. Based on these synthetic thermal phase curves, we investigate how the planet and its atmosphere could be characterized by spatiallyunresolved spectro-photometry of the system with JWST and EChO

Greenhouse Effect: The Relative Contributions of Emission Height and Total Absorption

International audienceSince the 1970's, results from radiative transfer models unambiguously show that an increase in the CO 2 concentration leads to an increase of the greenhouse effect. However, this robust result is often misunderstood and often questioned. A common argument is that the CO 2 greenhouse effect is saturated (i.e. does not increase) as CO 2 absorption of an entire atmospheric column, named absorptivity, is saturated. This argument is erroneous firstly because absorptivity by CO 2 is currently not fully saturated and still increases with CO 2 concentration, and secondly because a change in emission height explains why the greenhouse effect may increase even if the absorptivity is saturated. However, these explanations are only qualitative. In this article, we first propose a way of quantifying the effects of both the emission height and absorptivity and we illustrate which one of the two dominates for a suite of simple idealized atmospheres. Then, using a line by line model and a representative standard atmospheric profile, we show that the increase of the greenhouse effect due to an increase of CO 2 from its current value is primarily due (about 90%) to the change in emission height. For an increase of water vapor, the change in absorptivity plays a more important role (about 40%) but the change in emission height still has the largest contribution (about 60%)