Dear Colleagues,

you receive this eMail because you are either a user of the radiative
transfer package libRadtran or because we think that you might be
interested in this information. Should you not be interested in
receiving further information, please let us know!

Attached to this eMail is the 14th libRadtran Newsletter. The main
issue of this Newsletter is to announce the new release 

  libRadtran-1.7

There is not "beta" in the name this time. However, that does not 
necessarily imply that the current release is less beta than the 
last one. 

Best wishes,
Bernhard Mayer.

/*----------------------------------------------------------------
 * libRadtran Newsletter No. 14
 *
 * September 12, 2012
 *
 * Bernhard Mayer  (bernhard.mayer_at_lmu.de)
 * Claudia Emde    (claudia.emde_at_lmu.de)
 * Robert Buras    (robert.buras_at_lmu.de)
 * Arve Kylling    (arve.kylling_at_gmail.com)
 * Jonas Kylling   (joirkyl_at_gmail.com)
 * Josef Gasteiger (josef.gasteiger_at_campus.lmu.de) 
 * Bettina Richter (bettirichter_at_googlemail.com)
 *
 * ### More info: http://www.libradtran.org ###
 *----------------------------------------------------------------*/

The main issue of this Newsletter is to announce the new release 

  libRadtran-1.7

which will be remembered as the First Fall Release of libRadtran (FFRLR)

The new release includes a number of new features and certainly also 
a number of new bugs. We count on your help to identify and fix those! 

*** Major changes:

* Certainly the biggest change is the inclusion of a 1D version of our 
  Monte Carlo code MYSTIC in the release. The main reason for including 
  1D MYSTIC is that it offers a fully spherical solver as well as a full
  vectorized code (that is, with polarization). The vector code is as fast or 
  faster than other vector codes and does not need any approximations. In 
  contrast to polRadtran (also included in libRadtran) MYSTIC allows correct
  treatment of strongly peaked scattering phase functions of water and ice
  clouds. More details may be found in the manual as well as in a "cookbook"
  provided at the libRadtran webpage, 
  http://www.libradtran.org/doku.php?id=basic_usage#play_around_with_mystic

* Optical properties of non-spherical OPAC mineral dust aerosols (option
  "aerosol_species_file desert_spheroids") have been added. They have been
  calculated using the T-matrix method. The aspect ratio distribution of the
  particles was adopted from single particle microscopy analyses of Saharan
  dust particles. They are included in the "OPAC aerosol optical properties"
  package, available from the Downloads section.

* Previous versions of libRadtran allowed to include aerosol, water and 
  ice clouds. It was not possible, however, to have e.g. a mixture 
  of large hexagonal (cirrus) particles and small droxtal (contrail) particles
  in the same layer. The new "profile" option allows to do that and much
  more. Please check the manual!

* The GUI has been improved considerable. Options are now more complete, 
  arranged in a more structured way, better documented and various examples
  have been included. Try "python GUI.py" in the GUI directory! 

* Filter functions of channels of several satellite sensors have been
  added. They are available in the data/filter directory. Example input
  files (UVSPEC_FILTER_*) using filter functions are also available. A new        
  option "filter_function_normalize" has been added. If used together with
  "output integrate", this option gives radiative properties per wavelength
  interval, averaged over the filter function.  

* Numerous small changes, additions, and bug fixes.