PlanarRad software

PlanarRad is a freely available open-source C++ implementation of the invariant imbedded numerical integration technique for calculating radiative transfer in plane-parallel shallow-water environments, i.e. where the substrate reflectance and water column optical properties can be assumed horizontally homogenous. The solution algorithm follows almost exactly the formulation described in the book Light and Water by Curt Mobley, and is therefore capable of calculating angular radiance through the water column, and above-water reflectances, based on the Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) of the water. PlanarRad is intended primarily as an instructive teaching aid for hydrological optics, and as such comes with a wide variety of visualisation outputs built-in. Multiple model runs and actual data from underwater profiling spectroradiometers can be directly compared in the visualisation tools provided, to examine model sensitivity to input parameters or for model closure experiments.

Screenshot of the PlanarRad GUI

PlanarRad automatically handles spectral resampling to simplify combining data from multiple instruments. The software is therefore ideal for use with the FSF suite of aquatic instrumentation, and in fact has been developed using data from this equipment. In addition to the graphical front-end a set of command line tools facilitate model runs from scripts, allowing automated multiple runs for construction of remote sensing reflectance look-up tables for example. Development of PlanarRad has received support through three NERC funded projects held at Exeter University and the World Bank/GEF Coral Reef Targeted Research Program. Beta-versions of the software for Linux and Microsoft Windows will be available early in 2009, in the meantime interested parties may contact Dr. John Hedley at Exeter University or Mr Alasdair MacArthur at FSF for further details.

NERC University of Exeter

Disclaimer. By providing these resources to the user community the Field Spectroscopy Facility takes no responsibility for the use of the software or any other resources provided on this webpage. While all reasonable steps have been taken by FSF to ensure that these resources perform the task described, the FSF cannot be held responsible for any problems experienced while using the datasets. Any questions or technical issues relating to an individual item should be directed to the original contributor, and not directly to the FSF.