Engineering topics

Marshak, Alexander L.

Publications and source records attributed to Marshak, Alexander L..

4 records

NASA NTRS2011

On the Accuracy of Double Scattering Approximation for Atmospheric Polarization Computations

Interpretation of multi-angle spectro-polarimetric data in remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols require fast and accurate methods of solving the vector radiative transfer equation (VRTE). The single and double scattering approximations could provide an analytical framework for the inversion algorithms and are relatively fast, however accuracy assessments of these approximations for the aerosol atmospheres in the atmospheric window channels have been missing. This paper provides such analysis for a vertically homogeneous aerosol atmosphere with weak and strong asymmetry of scattering. In both cases, the double scattering approximation gives a high accuracy result (relative error approximately 0.2%) only for the low optical path - 10(sup -2) As the error rapidly grows with optical thickness, a full VRTE solution is required for the practical remote sensing analysis. It is shown that the scattering anisotropy is not important at low optical thicknesses neither for reflected nor for transmitted polarization components of radiation.

Korkin, Sergey V.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Interaction of photons in a canopy of finite-dimensional leaves

Neutral particle interaction for photons traveling in media consisting of finite-dimensional scattering centers is investigated. A leaf canopy, a typical example of such media, is idealized as a binary medium consisting of gaps (voids) and regions with phytoelements (turbid phytomedium). The leaf canopy is represented by a combination of all possible open oriented spheres. The extinction coefficient at any phase-space location in a leaf canopy is the product of the extinction coefficient in the turbid phytomedium and the probability of absence gaps at that location. An expression for the differential scattering coefficient is derived using the same approach. The effect of canopy parameters and direction of photon travel on the extinction coefficient is illustrated by numerical examples.

Knyazikhin, Yuri V.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Transport theory for a leaf canopy of finite-dimensional scattering centers

A formalism for photon transport in leaf canopies with finite-dimensional scattering centers that cross shade mutually is developed. Starting from first principles, expressions for the interaction cross sections are derived. The problem of illumination by a monodirectional source is studied in detail using a successive collisions approach. A balance equation is formulated in R3 and the interaction between a leaf canopy and the adjacent atmosphere is discussed. Although the details are those relating to a leaf canopy, the formalism is equally applicable to other media where the constituents cross shade mutually such as planetary surfaces, rings and ridged-ice in polar regions, i.e., media that exhibit opposition brightening.

Myneni, Ranga B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Interaction between photons and leaf canopies

The physics of neutral particle interaction for photons traveling in media consisting of finite-dimensional scattering centers that cross-shade mutually is investigated. A leaf canopy is a typical example of such media. The leaf canopy is idealized as a binary medium consisting of randomly distributed gaps (voids) and regions with phytoelements (turbid phytomedium). In this approach, the leaf canopy is represented by a combination of all possible open oriented spheres. The mathematical approach for characterizing the structure of the host medium is considered. The extinction coefficient at any phase-space location in a leaf canopy is the product of the extinction coefficient in the turbid phytomedium and the probability of absence gaps at that location. Using a similar approach, an expression for the differential scattering coefficient is derived.

Knyazikhin, Yuri V.↗