The Skylab concentrated atmospheric radiation project - An overview

An overview is presented of the Skylab Concentrated Atmospheric Radiation Project (SCARP), which was conducted to determine the accuracy and applicability of different models of radiation transfer through air masses of differing characteristics including varying amounts of wet and dry aerosols. Sites surveyed included onshore and offshore areas in the vicinity of Houston, Texas, the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona, which provided a variety of warm, hot, dry, wet, clean, and dirty atmospheres. A typical exercise is described, and problems encountered during the experiment are discussed. It is noted that ten models of atmospheric scattering were utilized and that available data is being compared with the models.