Using a perturbation approach computational results have been obtained for the net radiative flux at selected wavelengths in realistic aerosol atmospheres. A simple interpolation scheme is presented that employs three base model computations and allows one to obtain quasi-exact flux results from precomputed perturbation data in a highly efficient manner. It is shown how the adjoint transfer equation can be employed to probe the atmosphere for certain radiative effects, i.e., in the present case for the net radiative flux as a function of height. Results for three different aerosol profiles were obtained and compared with exact calculations. Contour plots showing the relative error of the net flux underline that, over a wide range of aerosol perturbations (compare 0.1≲&tgr;c≲0.4 for continental-type aerosols) and for all solar zenith angles, perturbation theory produces relative errors below ¿0.25%. Compared to commonly used two-stream approximations, the perturbation approach not only offers the possibility to obtain the required model parameters off-line, that is, in a precomputed manner, but also enables one to study radiative effects for thin and moderately thick optical media in the sense of a functional sensitivity approach. Thus it can clearly be conducted that the methodological approach as presented in this study is superior to the commonly employed two-stream approximations for radiative transfer computations and in the future may be exploited to overcome the shortcomings of flux models. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994