Introduction to microwave radiative transfer

The following text gives a brief overview of microwave radiative transfer in atmospheres covering the principles of radiative transfer in an absorbing and scattering atmosphere including surface reflection and emission. A few approaches for radiative transfer modelling are presented. Models for atmospheric absorption, particle absorption and scattering as well as surface emission are introduced. Please note that the reference frequency range was chosen to be 1-200 GHz which covers all current spaceborne microwave radiometer channels in operation for tropospheric remote sensing. As a description of current microwave radiative transfer problems, the COST-712 Project 1 report is recommended.

Contents

1. Radiative transfer
2. Radiative transfer models
3. Atmospheric absorption
4. Surface emission / reflection
5. Hydrometeors
6. Fast models
7. Outstanding issues
8. References