The physical parameterization of the top-of-atmosphere reflection function for a cloudy atmosphere - underlying surface system: the oxygen A-band case study

The paper is devoted to the physical parameterization of the top-of-atmosphere reflection function. The accuracy of the parameterization is checked against exact radiative transfer calculations in a cloudy atmosphere for various cloud-top-heights, cloud optical and geometrical thicknesses, solar illumination and surface reflection conditions. It was found that the error of approximation is smaller than 5% for most cases studied at the wavelength interval 758-768 nm, which corresponds to the oxygen A-band. This band is routinely used in cloud-top-height retrievals. The model proposed can be used for cloud-top-height and cloud geometrical thickness retrievals. This allows to avoid a standard look-up-table retrieval scheme, involving complex numerical procedures. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.