The σ-IASI code for the calculation of infrared atmospheric radiance and its derivatives

This paper describes a new fast line-by-line radiative transfer scheme which computes top of the atmosphere spectral radiance and its Jacobians with respect to any set of geophysical parameters both for clear and cloudy sky, and presents the software which implements the procedure. The performance of the code has been evaluated with respect to accuracy and speediness through a comparison with a state-of-art line-by-line radiative transfer model. The new code is well suited for nadir viewing satellite and airplane infrared sensors with a sampling rate in the range 0.1–2 cm−1.