On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 11:59:35 PM UTC-6, Chris.B wrote:

On Thursday, 9 August 2018 03:28:25 UTC+2, Gary Harnagel wrote:

Using simplified models for a sanity check on "more complex" one is a valid
scientific operation.

Not if it ignores every other factor.

"Every other factor" cannot ignore the basic equations of atmospheric
reflection, absorption and re-emission. MODTRAN is a well-characterized
model used by the US Air Force:

https://web.archive.org/web/20080428...et.asp?id=7915

"MODTRAN has been extensively verified and validated against FASCODE line-
by-line calculations and measurement data. In a comparison of radiance codes
for climate modeling (ICRCCM), MODTRAN was compared with three independent
interferometer measurements of up-looking radiance and the overall agreement
was excellent."

The USAF has been using MODTRAN for a quarter of a century and find it
to be quite accurate. Others use it, too. It's strange that someone who
doesn't understand it doubts it but accepts other models that he also
doesn't understand :-)