Geoscientific Model Development
Geoscientific Model Development
GMD
Articles | Volume 15, issue 17
Articles | Volume 15, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6817-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6817-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 15, issue 17
Model description paper
 | Highlight paper
 | 
08 Sep 2022
Model description paper | Highlight paper |  | 08 Sep 2022

HORAYZON v1.2: an efficient and flexible ray-tracing algorithm to compute horizon and sky view factor

Christian R. Steger, Benjamin Steger, and Christoph Schär

Related authors

Toward exascale climate modelling: a python DSL approach to ICON's (icosahedral non-hydrostatic) dynamical core (icon-exclaim v0.2.0)
Anurag Dipankar, Mauro Bianco, Mona Bukenberger, Till Ehrengruber, Nicoletta Farabullini, Oliver Fuhrer, Abishek Gopal, Daniel Hupp, Andreas Jocksch, Samuel Kellerhals, Clarissa A. Kroll, Xavier Lapillonne, Matthieu Leclair, Magdalena Luz, Christoph Müller, Chia Rui Ong, Carlos Osuna, Praveen Pothapakula, Andreas Prein, Matthias Röthlin, William Sawyer, Christoph Schär, Sebastian Schemm, Giacomo Serafini, Hannes Vogt, Ben Weber, Robert C. Jnglin Wills, Nicolas Gruber, and Thomas C. Schulthess
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 713–729, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-713-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-713-2026, 2026
Short summary
Exploring a high-level programming model for the NWP domain using ECMWF microphysics schemes
Stefano Ubbiali, Christian Kühnlein, Christoph Schär, Linda Schlemmer, Thomas C. Schulthess, Michael Staneker, and Heini Wernli
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 529–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-529-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-529-2025, 2025
Short summary
Reduced floating-point precision in regional climate simulations: an ensemble-based statistical verification
Hugo Banderier, Christian Zeman, David Leutwyler, Stefan Rüdisühli, and Christoph Schär
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5573–5586, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5573-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5573-2024, 2024
Short summary
Exploring hail and lightning diagnostics over the Alpine-Adriatic region in a km-scale climate model
Ruoyi Cui, Nikolina Ban, Marie-Estelle Demory, Raffael Aellig, Oliver Fuhrer, Jonas Jucker, Xavier Lapillonne, and Christoph Schär
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 905–926, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-905-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-905-2023, 2023
Short summary
How well does a convection-permitting regional climate model represent the reverse orographic effect of extreme hourly precipitation?
Eleonora Dallan, Francesco Marra, Giorgia Fosser, Marco Marani, Giuseppe Formetta, Christoph Schär, and Marco Borga
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1133–1149, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1133-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1133-2023, 2023
Short summary
More articles (7)

Cited articles

ArcGIS: Geodesic slope computation, https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/2.7/tool-reference/spatial-analyst/how-slope-works.htm, last access: 22 December 2021. a
Arnold, N. S., Rees, W. G., Hodson, A. J., and Kohler, J.: Topographic controls on the surface energy balance of a high Arctic valley glacier, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 111, F02011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JF000426, 2006. a
Arthur, R. S., Lundquist, K. A., Mirocha, J. D., and Chow, F. K.: Topographic Effects on Radiation in the WRF Model with the Immersed Boundary Method: Implementation, Validation, and Application to Complex Terrain, Mon. Weather Rev., 146, 3277–3292, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0108.1, 2018. a, b
Ban, N., Caillaud, C., Coppola, E., Pichelli, E., Sobolowski, S., Adinolfi, M., Ahrens, B., Alias, A., Anders, I., Bastin, S., Belušić, D., Berthou, S., Brisson, E., Cardoso, R. M., Chan, S. C., Christensen, O. B., Fernández, J., Fita, L., Frisius, T., Gašparac, G., Giorgi, F., Goergen, K., Haugen, J. E., Hodnebrog, Ø., Kartsios, S., Katragkou, E., Kendon, E. J., Keuler, K., Lavin-Gullon, A., Lenderink, G., Leutwyler, D., Lorenz, T., Maraun, D., Mercogliano, P., Milovac, J., Panitz, H.-J., Raffa, M., Remedio, A. R., Schär, C., Soares, P. M. M., Srnec, L., Steensen, B. M., Stocchi, P., Tölle, M. H., Truhetz, H., Vergara-Temprado, J., de Vries, H., Warrach-Sagi, K., Wulfmeyer, V., and Zander, M. J.: The first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale resolution, part I: evaluation of precipitation, Clim. Dynam., 57, 275–302, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05708-w, 2021. a
Behnel, S., Bradshaw, R., Citro, C., Dalcin, L., Seljebotn, D. S., and Smith, K.: Cython: The Best of Both Worlds, Comput. Sci. Eng., 13, 31–39, https://doi.org/10.1109/MCSE.2010.118, 2011. a
More articles (64)
Download
Editorial statement
Finding the horizon is commonplace for humans, and evocative when imagining journeys on the coast, in the mountains, or in endless plains. This paper shows a way to optimize a machine's ability to complete the same task, with the goal of bettering our ability to understand nature and climate.
Read more
Short summary
Terrain horizon and sky view factor are crucial quantities for many geoscientific applications; e.g. they are used to account for effects of terrain on surface radiation in climate and land surface models. Because typical terrain horizon algorithms are inefficient for high-resolution (< 30 m) elevation data, we developed a new algorithm based on a ray-tracing library. A comparison with two conventional methods revealed both its high performance and its accuracy for complex terrain.
Read more
Share