Py6S v1.9.0 released

[Robin Wilson]

Hi,

I've finally had some time to do some concentrated work on Py6S, and have released a couple of new versions over the last few days: 1.8.2 and 1.9.0.

The full release notes are available at https://py6s.readthedocs.io/en/latest/releasenotes.html.

In brief:

• The dependency on pysolar has been upgraded to pysolar v0.9 rather than v0.6 (which was very old). This is only required if you want to use the Geometry.from_time_and_location function.
• The Geometry.from_time_and_location function now requires that you provide the date-time as a string in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS)
• matplotlib is now an optional dependency, rather than required. If you try and use one of the plotting functions without matplotlib installed then you will be prompted to install it.
• Water reflectance components (reflectance of foam, water and glint) are now extracted from the 6S output file if present (they are only present when the ocean reflectance parameterisation is used)
• Py6S gives an error if it is used with 6SV 2.1 (the latest version of 6S), as that version is not yet supported.

There have also been significant improvements in code quality and code style, which should make future development easier.

You can upgrade using one of the following commands:

pip install -U Py6S (if you installed using pip)

conda update py6s (if you installed using conda)

On a personal note, I am now working as a freelance software engineer and geospatial analyst (see www.rtwilson.com), and have to prioritise my paid work. I am still aiming to continue work on Py6S, but if anyone knows of any funding that might be available to help with future Py6S work then please let me know. I may also be available for paid consultancy work on Py6S, which can involve implementing new features - although that is dependent on my other work commitments.

I think the next big piece of work that needs doing is upgrading Py6S to work with 6SV 2.1 (the latest version of 6S). Unfortunately there is very limited documentation about what has changed in that version, and so it will take quite a lot of work to establish the changes in input and output file format and make sure Py6S interacts correctly with 6S. If there are other major features that you would like to see in Py6S then please open an issue here, and we can discuss them.

Regards,

Robin

Dr Robin Wilson

www.rtwilson.com