Radiative Transfer and Surface Property Modelling

Surface Property Models Task Group

At the Beijing 2005 ITSC the RTSP working group endorsed the formation of a task group to co-ordinate surface radiative property modelling activities, proposed by Ben Ruston. It was agreed that, while the task group will address surface property modelling for all surface types, in the first instance the task group would focus on land surface emissivity atlas and model developments in the first instance.

Catherine Prigent (Meteo France) and Fuzhong Weng (NOAA/NESDIS) are the co-chairs of the surface property models task group.

The task group has completed a survey of operational weather centres on the use of surface-sensitive ATOVS radiances, and is organising the First Workshop on Remote Sensing and Modeling of Surface Properties, to be held in Paris in June 2006.

Summary of operational surface emissivity models

These tables are an incomplete summary of current surface emissivity models. Please feel free to provide updated or additional information to the RTSP-WG co-chairs.

Infrared

Emissivity modelSurface typeRT modelMore info
Sea Surface Infrared Emissivity Model (SSIREM)seaRTTOVEumetsat NWP SAF Technical Report
InfraRed Sea Surface Emissivity (IRSSE)seaCRTMPaul van Delst’s web documentation

Microwave

Emissivity modelSurface typeRT modelMore info
FASTEMseaRTTOVEumetsat NWP SAF Technical Report
Microwave Emission Model (MEM)sea, land (various)CRTM ?updated link needed

Surface emissivity atlases

Miscelleaneous Surface emissivity information

Publications