The solution of the vector radiative transfer equation using the discrete ordinates technique: Selected applications

The paper is devoted to the presentation of a newly developed radiative transfer code SCIAPOL_1.0 for a plane-parallel turbid slab illuminated by the monodirectional wide beam. The SCIAPOL_1.0 is based on the discrete-ordinates solution of the vector radiative transfer equation.The code is applied to a number of problems, including studies of the applicability of the scalar approximation for the calculation of light reflectance from aerosols, clouds, and molecular atmospheres. We also study the accuracy of the single scattering approximation as applied to the calculation of light reflection from molecular and cloudy atmospheres and propose new approximations for the calculation of the reflection function and the degree of light polarization under unpolarized light illumination conditions.