Abstract

LOWTRAN is a computer code which evaluates atmospheric transmittance and radiance for given climatological conditions and frequency regions at a moderate spectral resolution.¹ It is widely used for studies involving atmospheric propagation of electromagnetic waves. Often climatological conditions input to LOWTRAN consist of predicted and/or estimated atmospheric variables. Since they are inherently difficult to predict due to their fast variability in time and space, unavoidable uncertainties exist in these variables. The sensitivity of LOWTRAN results on these uncertainties should be critically evaluated if LOWTRAN applications are to be successful. Because the sensitivity is an implicit function of the operating point, careful selection of the combinations of input variables is indispensable for a meaningful analysis. This calls for development of an integrated plan for the sensitivity analysis. We report our initial effort in developing a systematic sensitivity analysis plan for LOWTRAN. The analysis plan is to evaluate quantitatively as well as qualitatively variations in transmittances computed by LOWTRAN against perturbations in input climatological conditions.

© 1987 Optical Society of America