Configuration Gallery

Configuration Gallery#

This gallery showcases the simulation configurations used in the pyRadtran notebooks.

Available Configurations#

Quickstart#

Quickstart Configuration#

File: quickstart.yaml

Listing 1 Quickstart simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 1
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.15
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: false
  mol_abs_param: lowtran per_nm
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - lambda
  - edir
  - edn
  - eup
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: twostr
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 350
  - 2500

Surface Properties#

Albedo Configuration#

File: albedo.yaml

Listing 2 Albedo simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 1
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: lowtran per_nm
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 400
  - 700

Cloud Simulations#

Solar Cloud Simulation#

File: cloud_solar.yaml

Listing 3 Solar cloud simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran per_nm
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 400
  - 3200

Thermal Cloud Simulation#

File: cloud_thermal.yaml

Listing 4 Thermal cloud simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran medium
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: thermal
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 4500
  - 42000

Arctic Cloud Experiment — Solar#

File: arctic_cloud_experiment_solar.yaml

Listing 5 Arctic cloud experiment solar configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 30
  timeout_seconds: 3600
output:
  filename_prefix: arctic_cloud_experiment_solar
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran coarse
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  - heat
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 300
  - 3000

Arctic Cloud Experiment — Thermal#

File: arctic_cloud_experiment_thermal.yaml

Listing 6 Arctic cloud experiment thermal configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 30
  timeout_seconds: 3600
output:
  filename_prefix: arctic_cloud_experiment_thermal
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran coarse
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  - heat
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: thermal
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 3000
  - 100000

Atmospheric Profiles#

Radiosonde Configuration#

File: radiosonde.yaml

Listing 7 Radiosonde atmospheric profile configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.3
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: radiosonde
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran per_nm
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 253.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 400
  - 4500

Radiosonde Solar Spectral Configuration#

File: radiosonde_solar_spectral.yaml

Listing 8 Radiosonde solar spectral simulation configuration#

# Radiosonde-driven spectral solar simulation (no wavelength integration)
# Paths are loaded from ~/.pyradtran/config.yaml (master config)

simulation_defaults:
  rte_solver: disort
  mol_abs_param: reptran per_nm
  source: solar
  wavelength_nm: [1024, 2400]
  integrate_wavelength: false
  h2o_source: radiosonde
  albedo_value: 0.3
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  ozone_du: 300.0
  output_altitudes_km: [0]
  output_columns: [zout, lambda, sza, edir, eglo, edn, eup, enet, albedo]

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 60

output:
  filename_prefix: radiosonde_solar_spectral
  filename_suffix: .nc

Radiosonde Thermal Configuration#

File: radiosonde_thermal.yaml

Listing 9 Radiosonde thermal simulation configuration#

# Radiosonde-driven thermal simulation (VELOX 10.74 µm channel)
# Paths are loaded from ~/.pyradtran/config.yaml (master config)

simulation_defaults:
  rte_solver: disort
  mol_abs_param: reptran medium
  source: thermal
  wavelength_nm: [10350, 11130]
  integrate_wavelength: true
  h2o_source: radiosonde
  albedo_value: 0.3
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  ozone_du: 300.0
  output_altitudes_km: [0]
  output_columns: [zout, lambda, eup, edn, edir, eglo, enet]

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 60

output:
  filename_prefix: radiosonde_thermal
  filename_suffix: .nc

Spectral and Thermal Simulations#

Spectral Configuration#

File: spectral_config.yaml

Listing 10 Spectral simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 4
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: false
  mol_abs_param: lowtran per_nm
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 273.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 400
  - 700

Thermal Configuration#

File: thermal_config.yaml

Listing 11 Thermal simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 300
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /path/to/radiosonde/data
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: 2.0
  h2o_source: fixed
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran medium
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
  - 6
  - 7
  - 8
  - 9
  - 10
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: 300.0
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: thermal
  surface_temperature_k: 248.4
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 3000
  - 100000

Field Campaigns#

HALO-AC3 BBR Aircraft Configuration#

File: halo-ac3_bbr_all_aircraft.yaml

Listing 12 HALO-AC3 BBR aircraft simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 32
  timeout_seconds: 3600
output:
  filename_prefix: pyradtran_sim
  filename_suffix: _results.nc
  netcdf_encoding:
    complevel: 5
    zlib: true
paths:
  atmosphere_profile: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/atmmod/afglus.dat
  libradtran_bin: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/bin/uvspec
  libradtran_data: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data
  output_dir: pyradtran_output
  radiosonde_base: /home/josh/pyRadtran/book/notebooks/radiosonde
  solar_spectrum: /opt/libRadtran-2.0.6/data/solar_flux/NewGuey2003.dat
  working_dir: pyradtran_work
simulation_defaults:
  albedo_value: 0.85
  clouds:
    cloud_fraction: 1.0
    cloud_source: parametric
    cloud_type: wc
    effective_radius_um: 10.0
    enabled: false
    era5_lat: null
    era5_lon: null
    era5_time: null
    ic_file: null
    ice_content_g_m3: 0.0
    layer_bottom_km: 1.0
    layer_top_km: 2.0
    water_content_g_m3: 0.1
    wc_file: null
  h2o_mm: null
  h2o_source: radiosonde
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran medium
  output_altitudes_km:
  - 0.0
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - sza
  - edir
  - eglo
  - edn
  - eup
  - enet
  - albedo
  ozone_du: null
  parameter_overrides: {}
  rte_solver: disort
  source: solar
  surface_temperature_k: 253.15
  sza: null
  viewing_geometry: nadir
  wavelength_nm:
  - 290
  - 4500

Velox Configuration#

File: velox.yaml

Listing 13 Velox simulation configuration#

execution:
  cleanup_temp_files: false
  debug_mode: false
  max_workers: 16
  timeout_seconds: 60
simulation_defaults:
  integrate_wavelength: true
  mol_abs_param: reptran medium
  output_columns:
  - zout
  - lambda
  - eup
  - edn
  - edir
  ozone_du: 300.0
  rte_solver: disort
  source: thermal
  surface_temperature_k: 248.4
  wavelength_nm:
  - 7700
  - 12000

How to Use These Configurations#

Copy a configuration file that matches your simulation requirements
Modify the paths to match your system setup
Adjust parameters according to your specific study
Run the simulation using pyRadtran interface

Configuration Structure#

All configuration files follow a common structure with the following main sections:

paths: File paths for libradtran installation, data files, and output directories
simulation_defaults: Default parameters for radiative transfer calculations
execution: Runtime and performance settings
output: Output format and naming conventions

For detailed information about each parameter, refer to the Usage documentation.