Abstract
This chapter provides a short yet comprehensive treatment of the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with matter as well as atmospheric radiative transfer. A brief introduction to electromagnetic radiation is followed by a discussion of molecular energy levels leading to an explanation of the molecular absorption and scattering processes. The chapter then discusses the various related physical quantities (such as particle cross section, extinction coefficient, and phase function). Physical laws relevant to the emission of radiation (Kirchhoff’s and Planck’s laws) are then presented. This provides all the ingredients to describe atmospheric radiative transfer in both the shortwave and longwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some resolution techniques of the radiative transfer equation are presented under the assumption of single and multiple scattering. This leads naturally to discussing atmospheric windows, the atmospheric radiative budget and actinic fluxes. Finally, a short presentation of the polarization of light and its impact on scattering ends the chapter.
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- 1.
The sky does not appear violet because there is somewhat less violet radiation in the lower atmosphere but also because of the way colour receptors in the eye respond to different wavelengths.
- 2.
The same notation is used traditionally to indicate the vibration mode and its associated wavenumber.
- 3.
Atoms also contributes to absorption in the upper atmosphere but are omitted from the discussion here although the principles are the same.
- 4.
The difference between optical thickness and optical depth should be noted: the optical thickness is for a layer contained between l o and l 1. It is, therefore, the difference between optical depths \({\delta}(l_o)\) and \({\delta}(l_1)\).
- 5.
We neglect the fact that incident solar radiation is not completely collimated but is included in a cone with half-aperture of 0.266° that corresponds to the solar disk.
- 6.
In a warming climate, as we currently experience, outgoing longwave radiation slightly lags behind absorbed solar radiation because some energy is stored in the ocean. Hence, outgoing longwave radiation is slightly smaller than absorbed solar radiation once interannual variability is smoothed out.
References
Bohren CF, Huffman DR (1998) Absorption and scattering of light by small particles. Wiley Science Paperback Series, New York, 54–4 pp
Fouchet T (2000) Physico-chimie de l’atmosphère jovienne à partir de l’analyse des données du satellite infrarouge ISO, Thèse de doctorat de l’Université Paris 6, 274 pp
López-Puertas M, Taylor FW (2001) Non-LTE radiative transfer in the atmosphere. World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd, 50–4 pp
van de Hulst HC (1982) Light scattering by small particles. Dover Publications, New York
Further Reading (Textbooks and Articles)
Bohren CF, Clothiaux EE (2006) Fundamentals of atmospheric radiation: an introduction with 400 problems. Wiley-VCH, 49–0 pp
Goody RM, Yung YL (1989) Atmospheric radiation, theoretical basis, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 51–9 pp
Hansen JE, Travis LD (1974) Light scattering in planetary atmospheres. Sp Sci Rev 16:527–610
Lenoble J (1993) Atmospheric radiative transfer. A. Deepak Publishing, Hampton, 53–2 pp
Liou K-N (2002) An introduction to atmospheric radiation, vol 84, 2nd edn. International Geophysics Series, Academic, San Diego, California, 583 pp
Madronich S (1987) Photodissociation in the atmosphere. 1. Actinic flux and the effects of ground reflections and clouds. J Geophys Res 92:9740–9752
Mishchenko MI, Travis LD, Mackowski DW (1996) T-matrix computations of light scattering by nonspherical particles: a review. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf 55:535–575
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Boucher, O. (2015). Interactions of Radiation with Matter and Atmospheric Radiative Transfer. In: Atmospheric Aerosols. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9649-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9649-1_5
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