  The polarization characteristics of atmospheric scattering are important and
should not be ignored in radiative transfer simulations. In this study, a new
vector radiative transfer model called the polarized adding method of discrete
ordinate approximation (POLDDA) is proposed for use in remote sensing
applications for ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared spectra. The
single-layer radiative transfer process and inhomogeneous multi-layer
connection are solved using the discrete ordinate method (DOM) and adding
methods, respectively. By combining the advantages of DOM and the adding
method, the Stokes vector (including the I-, Q-, U-, and V-components)
calculated using the new method conforms to the results of PolRadtran/RT3,
whether in a Rayleigh scattering atmosphere or the water cloud case. Moreover,
the relative root-mean-square error (RMSE) values of the Stokes vector for the
test cases between MYSTIC and the new method or RT3 prove the accuracy of the
proposed method. Meanwhile, the new method has a higher computational
efficiency than RT3, particularly for an atmosphere with a large scattering
optical depth. Unlike RT3, the computation time of the proposed method does not
increase with the optical depth of each layer.
