Community radiative transfer model for radiance assimilation and applications

The Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM), developed at U.S. Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), has been used for infrared and microwave satellite radiance simulations and their derivatives to the surface/atmospheric parameters in data assimilation, physical retrieval, and many others. The CRTM has also been applied visible sensors and visible channel radiance/reflectance is simulated for studying aerosol and cloud effect. Together with the CRTM aerosol optical depth (AOD) module, the MODIS AOD satellite products can be assimilated and enhance air quality forecasting. This paper gives an overview of the CRTM developments and functionalities as well as its applications.