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Two-stream approximation for rapid modeling the light pollution levels in local atmosphere

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Abstract

The two-stream concept is used for modeling the radiative transfer in Earth’s atmosphere illuminated by ground-based light sources. The light pollution levels (illuminance and irradiance) are computed for various aerosol microphysical parameters, specifically the asymmetry parameter g A , single scattering albedo ω A , and optical thickness τ A . Two distinct size distributions of Junge’s and gamma-type are employed. Rather then being a monotonic function of τ A , the diffuse illuminance/irradiance shows a local minimum at specific τ A,lim independent of size distribution taken into consideration. The existence of local minima has relation to the scattering and attenuation efficiencies both of which have opposite effects. The computational scheme introduced in this paper is advantageous especially if the entire set of calculations needs to be repeated with an aim to simulate diffuse light in various situations and when altering optical states of the atmospheric environment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Scientific Grant Agency VEGA (grant No. 2/0002/12).

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  1. Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská Cesta 9, 84504, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Miroslav Kocifaj

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  1. Miroslav Kocifaj
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Correspondence to Miroslav Kocifaj.

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Kocifaj, M. Two-stream approximation for rapid modeling the light pollution levels in local atmosphere. Astrophys Space Sci 341, 301–307 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-1074-x

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