Simulation of atmospheric phenomena

This paper presents a physically based simulation of atmospheric phenomena. It takes into account the physics of non-homogeneous media in which the index of refraction varies continuously, creating curved light paths. As opposed to previous research on this area, we solve the physically based differential equation that describes the trajectory of light. We develop an accurate expression of the index of refraction in the atmosphere as a function of wavelength, based on real measured data. We also describe our atmosphere profile manager, which lets us mimic the initial conditions of real-world scenes for our simulations. The method is validated both visually (by comparing the images with the real pictures) and numerically (with the extensive literature from other areas of research such as optics or meteorology). The phenomena simulated include the inferior and superior mirages, the Fata Morgana, the Novaya-Zemlya, the Viking's end of the world, the distortions caused by heat waves and the green flash. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.