CLDGEN Users Guide
Abstract
USAFETAC/DNY developed CLDGEN to perform sensitivity analyses of Earth-to-space satellite viewing through the atmosphere. The CLDGEN subroutine is designed to be included in a host program supplied by the user, who must write the routines that generate the statistics on the information required. CLDGEN generates clouds at one point in the sky for each call to the subroutine. It can also generate lines, sectors, areas, or whole sky images as long as it is done pixel by pixel. The information from the model can be used to determine statistics on the amount of time a satellite is visible to an observer on the ground. CLDGEN simulates clouds on two scales. First, it simulates representative sky cover over the entire celestial dome. Second, it simulates cloud/no cloud for an exact point in the sky. Individual cloud elements occur on a scale much smaller, both in space and time, than the scale representative of whole sky cover. Seasonal and diurnal variations in cloud distribution over the ground site are accounted for by using data-compacted input variables. Mean sky cover and scale distance are used to define sky-cover distribution at each site. USAFETAC generates the site-specific data files.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA222266
Entities
People
- John A. Rupp
Organizations
- Air Force Technical Applications Center