Hydrosphere, Cryosphere,

and Atmosphere
Lecture 5
Radiative Transfer Equations
Atmospheric Modeling
Remote Sensing of Atmosphere

GNR 621
 Radiation Laws
Planck’s Law (describes spectral radiance from a black body at temperature T)
2hc 2 2hf 3
B = 5 hc / kT B f = 2 hf / kT
 (e − 1) c (e − 1)
W m-2 sr-1Hz-1
2hc 2  c1 
−5 −5

B = hc / kT = c 2 / T
e ( −1 e ) ( −1 ) h= Planck constant = 6.626 x 10-34 m2 kg/s

Stefan-Boltzmann Law 2 5 k 4

 = T 4
Radiant M =
 M ( )d =  T W m-2
4

exitance 0 15c 2 h 3 -23

 = Boltzmann constant = 1.38 x 10 J k-1

Wien’s Radiation Law

2h 3 −hf / kT
Bf = 2 f e
For short wavelength (high freq._ hf/kT >>1 c
Rayleigh-Jeans Law
For longer wavelength (i.e low frequency), hf/kT << 1
 x 2
x 3

e = 1 + x + + + ..... − 1 = x for x  1
x

 3 2 6
2
 x= hf/kT
2hf 2 f kT 2kT
Bf = = = Wm −2 sr −1Hz −1
c 2 hf c2 2
Optical Depth
Beer Lambert’s Law: 𝐼(𝑧) = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝜇𝑧
• A certain amount of solar radiation is absorbed, scattered and
reflected by atmospheric air molecules, aerosols and clouds before
reaching the ground, which directly affects the earth's radiation
budget
• In recent years, direct and indirect radiative forcing by aerosols has
been reported to play a significant role in global warming
• The coefficient of attenuation of solar radiation by the atmosphere is
called atmospheric optical depth, and can be calculated by measuring
the intensity of direct solar radiation reaching the earth
Optical Depth (τ)
𝐼 = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝜏
where, 𝜏(= 𝑘𝜌𝑠) is the optical depth, k is absorption coefficient, ρ is
the density of the medium, s is the total length (or thickness)
• Optically thin if τ <<1, thick if τ >> 1 (it indicates quantity of light
removal by absorption or scattering)
• Case 1: Typical portion of the Earth's atmosphere, which has opacity
(mass absorption coefficient) roughly k = 0.0001 cm2/g, density ρ =
0.001 g/cm3, and a length of 1 km: τ = k ρ s = 0.01
• Case 2: Typical portion of the atmosphere, which has opacity roughly
k = 0.1 cm2/g, density ρ = 0.001 g/cm3, and a length of 1 km: τ = 10
 Lower τ, good visibility
Higher τ, low visibility

The aerosol cloud following

the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo
volcano in June 1991 having a
maximum mean mid-visible
optical thickness of 0.3

Shiva Linga at Gangotri Glacier

Optical Depth and Transmissivity
property of a substance or material that measures how much light or radiant energy it allows to pass through it

𝐼𝜆 = 𝐼0 𝑡𝜆
where, 𝑡𝜆 is the transmissivity (or transmittance) at wavelength λ.
𝑡𝜆 = 𝑒 −𝜏
• If τ =1, t = e-1 = 0.3678 → 37% transmissivity (63% beam reduction)
• If τ =2.5, t = e-2.5 = 0.082 → 8% transmissivity (92% beam reduction)
• Mt. Pinatubo case:
• Before Eruption, t= e-0.01 ≈ 100% (Almost no loss)
• After Eruption, t= e-0.3 ≈ 74% (Almost 26% loss in transmitted light)
Atmospheric Scattering
• Scattering is the process by which small
particles suspended in a medium of a different
index of refraction diffuse a portion of the
incident radiation in all directions
• Scattering occurs when a photon’s
electromagnetic field hits a particle’s electric
field in the atmosphere and is deflected into
another direction
• With scattering, there is no energy
transformation, but a change in the spatial
distribution of the energy.
• Natural phenomenon mainly responsible for the
colors we observe in the sky
Atmospheric Scattering
𝛼 = 𝜋𝐷𝑝 /𝜆
where, πDp is the circumference of a particle and λ is the wavelength of
incident radiation in the medium; α is dimensionless.
• Rayleigh Scattering
• Small particle compared to wavelength of light (α << 1)
• Mie Scattering
• Particle about the same size as wavelength of light, valid only for spheres (α ≈1)
• Non-Selective or Geometric Scattering
• Particle much larger than wavelength of light (α >> 1)
Rayleigh Scattering
• Rayleigh scattering mainly consists of scattering from atmospheric gases
• This occurs when the particles causing the scattering are smaller in size
than the wavelengths of radiation in contact with them
• This type of scattering is therefore wavelength dependent. As the
wavelength decreases, the amount of scattering increases
• The strong wavelength dependence of the scattering (~λ−4) means that
shorter (blue) wavelengths are scattered more strongly than longer (red)
wavelengths
• Because of Rayleigh scattering, the sky appears blue
• Also the Sun appears more red near the horizon because the light being
received directly from it must pass through more of the atmosphere
Mie Scattering
• Mie scattering is elastic scattered light of particles that have a diameter
similar to or larger than the wavelength of the incident light
• The Mie signal is proportional to the square of the particle diameter
• Mie scattering is much stronger than Rayleigh scattering and, therefore, a
potential source of interference for this weaker light scattering process
• Mie scattering is mainly caused by pollen, dust, smoke, water droplets, and
other particles in the lower portion of the atmosphere
• Applicable to homogeneous spherical particles and requires complicated
numerical models to solve
• The grey/white color of the clouds is caused by Mie scattering by water
droplets, which are of a comparable size to the wavelengths of visible light
Non-Selective or Geometric Scattering
• Occurs in the lower portion of the atmosphere when the particles are
much larger than the incident radiation
• This type of scattering is not wavelength dependent and is the
primary cause of haze or fog
• Laws of geometric optics are mostly sufficient to describe the
interaction of light with the particle
• Ray tracing determines the light emanating from a single scatterer,
and combining that result statistically for a large number of randomly
oriented and positioned scatterers, one can describe atmospheric
optical phenomena such as rainbows due to water droplets and halos
due to ice crystals.
Graph of size parameter X (or α)
and type of scattering as a
function of radiation wavelength
and particle radius. Radiation
and particle types are shown at
the right and top, respectively
The Green Flash
• The green flash is a phenomenon that occurs at sunset and sunrise
when conditions are favorable, and results when two optical
phenomena combine: a mirage and the dispersion of sunlight
• As the sun dips below the horizon the light is being dispersed through
the earth’s atmosphere like a prism.
• As the light passes through the atmosphere, sometimes a flash of
green can be seen for a few seconds.
 [Link]

Radiation Transfer

Illustration of a single beam of radiance and the processes that affect it as it propagates a distance Δr
Radiation Transfer
• The rate of change of radiance with distance ds
𝑑𝐿𝜆
=𝐴+𝐵+𝐶+𝐷
𝑑𝑠
• A: Radiation can be scattered out of the beam into other directions
• B: Radiation from the beam can be absorbed by the material
• C: Radiation from other directions can be scattered into the beam
• D: Radiation can be emitted by the material
• The terms A and B remove the radiation from the beam and are known
depletion or loss terms
• Terms C and D add radiation to the beam and are known as source terms
 Loss terms
Term A (Scattering out)
• Scattering radiation out of the beam with volume scattering coefficient
(𝜎𝑠 (𝜆))
𝐴 = −𝜎𝑠 (𝜆)𝐿𝜆

Term B (Absorption)
• Rate of decrease in the intensity of radiation as it passed through medium
is proportional to the intensity of the radiation
𝐵 = −𝜎𝑎 (𝜆)𝐿𝜆
𝜎𝑎 (𝜆) – volume absorption coefficient (small value means less attenuation)
𝜎𝑎 (𝜆) = (g/cm3).(cm2 /g) =cm-1
Source terms
Term C (Scattering in)
• Radiation travelling in a direction specified by the angle θ and φ, and
scattered into the beam
𝜎𝑠 (𝜆) 2𝜋 𝜋
𝐶= න න 𝐿𝜆 𝜃 ′ , 𝜙 ′ 𝑝 𝜓𝑠 sin 𝜃 ′ 𝑑𝜃 ′ 𝑑𝜙′
4𝜋 0 0
𝑝 𝜓𝑠 is the scattering phase function, and 𝜓𝑠 is the scattering angle
Term D (Emission in)
• According to Kirchhoff’s law, good emitters are good absorbers
𝐷 = 𝜎𝑎 (𝜆)𝐵𝜆 (𝑇)
𝐵𝜆 (𝑇) is the blackbody radiation at temperature T
• Absorptance (or Emittance) + Reflectance + Transmittance = 1
Radiative Transfer Equation
𝑑𝐿𝜆
= −𝜎𝑠 𝜆 𝐿𝜆 − 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 𝐿𝜆 + 𝜎𝑠 𝜆 𝐿′𝜆 + 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 𝐵𝜆 𝑇
𝑑𝑠
Above is radiative transfer equation in differential form (Eq. 1)

𝑑𝐿𝜆
= 𝜎𝑎 (𝜆)[𝐵𝜆 (𝑇) − 𝐿𝜆 ] + 𝜎𝑠 𝜆 [𝐿′ 𝜆 −𝜎𝑠 𝜆 ]
𝑑𝑠

• Case 1: If 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 = 0, the layer is transparent absorptionally

• Case 2: If 𝜎𝑠 𝜆 = 0, the scattering particles are absent, there is no
affect on the beam
Slant path
• We define, volume extinction coefficient (𝜎𝑐 (𝜆)) as:
𝜎𝑐 𝜆 = 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 + 𝜎𝑠 (𝜆)
• The slant optical depth is given as:
𝑠2
𝜏𝑠𝑙 (𝑠1 , 𝑠2 ) = න 𝜎𝑐 𝜆, 𝑠 𝑑𝑠
𝑠1
• The nadir (vertical) optical depth is given as (𝜇 = cos 𝜃):
𝜏𝜆 𝑧1 , 𝑧2 = 𝜇 𝜏𝑠𝑙 𝑠1 , 𝑠2
• Absorption number: 𝛼ത = 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 Τ𝜎𝑐 𝜆
• Single scattering albedo: 𝜔ഥ = 𝜎𝑠 𝜆 Τ𝜎𝑐 𝜆
 𝑑𝐿𝜆
= −𝜎𝑠 𝜆 𝐿𝜆 − 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 𝐿𝜆 + 𝜎𝑠 𝜆 𝐿′𝜆 + 𝜎𝑎 𝜆 𝐵𝜆 𝑇
𝑑𝑠

Radiative Transfer Equation

• Eq. (1) can be rewritten as in the form below (Eq. 2):
𝑑𝐿𝜆 ഥ 2𝜋 1
𝜔
𝜇 = −𝐿𝜆 𝜃, 𝜙 + 𝛼𝐵 ത 𝜆 𝑇 + න න 𝐿𝜆 𝜇′ , 𝜙 ′ 𝑝 𝜓𝑠 𝑑𝜇′ 𝑑𝜙′
𝑑𝜏𝜆 4𝜋 0 −1
𝜇 ranges from -1 to +1, as 𝜃 changes from 0 to 180
• No Scattering Case (i.e., 𝛼ത = 1, 𝜔
ഥ = 0):
𝑑𝐿𝜆
𝜇 = −𝐿𝜆 𝜃, 𝜙 + 𝐵𝜆 𝑇
𝑑𝜏𝜆
• No Emission Case (i.e., 𝐵𝜆 = 0):
𝑑𝐿𝜆 ഥ 2𝜋 1
𝜔
𝜇 = −𝐿𝜆 𝜃, 𝜙 + න න 𝐿𝜆 𝜇′ , 𝜙 ′ 𝑝 𝜓𝑠 𝑑𝜇′ 𝑑𝜙′
𝑑𝜏𝜆 4𝜋 0 −1
No Scattering
𝑑𝐿𝜆
𝜇 = −𝐿𝜆 𝜃, 𝜙 + 𝐵𝜆 𝑇
𝑑𝜏𝜆
• For vertical viewing (𝜇 = cos 0 = 1), the solution of above equation is
as follows:
𝐿𝜆 = 𝐿0 exp −𝜏0 + (1 − exp −𝜏0 )𝐵𝜆 𝑇
• 𝐿0 is the radiance and 𝜏0 is the optical depth at the surface
• Optical depth of the sky 𝜏0 = 0.02 at 30 GHz (~1 cm) due to water
vapor
Atmosphere impact
• First, consider no source (L0 = 0) and atmosphere in thermal
equilibrium (300 K)
Lλ = 1.7 x 10-18 Wm-2Hz-1Sr-1 (no source)
• Next, consider a source of L0 = 10-17 Wm-2Hz-1Sr-1
Lλ = 1.15 x 10-17 Wm-2Hz-1Sr-1 (with source)
• Source contribution
(1.15 x 10-17 - 1.7 x 10-18 )*100/(10-17) = 98 %
• Impact of atmosphere = 2%
 Atmospheric Correction
• Raw earth
imagery from
satellites is
blue-ish due to
atmospheric
scattering

On the left the blueish “top of

atmosphere” reflectance, on the
right the corrected “surface
reflectance”
 [Link]

Atmospheric Modelling
• Key components of an
atmospheric model
 Remember
weather and
Weather Forecasting climate

• Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to

predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time
• Forecasting is the process of estimation in unknown situations from
the historical data
• The basic idea of numerical weather prediction is to sample the state
of the fluid at a given time and use the equations of fluid dynamics
and thermodynamics to estimate the state of the fluid at some time in
the future
• Requires continuous inputs from ground weather station and weather
buoys at sea

[Link]
Climate Model
• Climate models are systems of differential equations based on the
basic laws of physics, fluid motion, and chemistry
• General Circulation Models (GCMs) discretize the equations for fluid
motion and energy transfer and integrate these over time
• Unlike simpler models, GCMs divide the atmosphere and/or oceans
into grids of discrete “cells”, which represent computational units
• In many ways, climate modelling is just an extension of weather
forecasting, but focusing on changes over decades rather than hours
Climate Model resolution
• In general, increasing
the spatial resolution of
a model by a factor of
two will require around
10 times the computing
power to run in the
same amount of time

Increasing spatial resolution of climate models used through the first four IPCC assessment reports: first
(“FAR”) published in 1990, second (“SAR”) in 1995, third (“TAR”) in 2001 and fourth (“AR4”) in 2007
Popular Climate Models
• NCAR/UCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM)
• [Link]
• NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)
• [Link]
• NASA/GISS global climate model (GCM)
• [Link]
• User-friendly interface for PCs and Macs
• Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP)
• [Link]
• Under World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
 Solid Angle
• The solid angle subtended by Ω (omega) is the ratio
of the area A enclosed by a spherical surface to the
square of the radius of the sphere
• Provides field of view (FOV)
𝐴
Ω= 2
2
𝑟
𝑑𝐴 = 𝑟 sin 𝜃 𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜙
𝑑Ω = sin 𝜃 𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜙
where θ is the colatitude (angle from the North pole)
and φ is the longitude
• What is the solid angle for Landsat with 40 cm
aperture diameter with altitude 705 km?
Atmospheric Observations
• Radiance of a surface is defined as
𝑑2 𝑅𝑒
𝐿=
𝑑Ω 𝑑𝐴 cos 𝜃
dA cos θ is the projected area (not colatitude); Re is the radiant flux
emitted, reflected, transmitted or received.
• Spectral radiance would be given as
𝑑𝐿 𝑑𝐿
𝐿𝜆 = 𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝜈 =
𝑑𝜆 𝑑𝜈
• Radiance is independent of distance
• Generally, satellites use atmospheric windows to measure radiance

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Atmospheric Remote Sounding from Ground
• Dobson Ozone spectrophotometer
• Radars (Radio Detection And Ranging)
• Lidars (Light Detection And Ranging)

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 Dobson Ozone spectrophotometer
• Built in the mid-1920s by G.M.B. Dobson for the purpose of
investigating atmospheric circulation by measuring changes in
atmospheric ozone
• Total ozone observation is conducted by determining the intensity
ratio of a selected pair of UV wavelengths, one of which is strongly
absorbed by ozone relative to the other

Wavelength pair UV1 (slit S2) UV2 (slit S3)

A 305.5 325.0
C 311.5 332.4
D 317.5 339.9

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 RADARS
• Uses radio waves to determine the distance (range), angle, or velocity
of objects
• Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to
produce velocity data about objects at a distance
• It can be used to detect aircraft, ships,
spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles,
weather formations, and terrain
• [Link]
• [Link]
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LiDARS
• Measure ranges (variable distances) by targeting an object with a
laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the
receiver (typically at visible and UV wavelengths)
• A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a
specialized GPS receiver
• Commonly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in
surveying, geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology,
geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser
guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry.
• Also used in control and navigation for some autonomous cars
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[Link]
RADAR vs LiDAR
• Generally, the wavelength of RADAR is between 3 mm and 30 cm, while
LiDAR has a micrometer range wavelength (from about 250 nm to 10 μm)
• RADAR can detect objects at long distance and through fog or clouds. But
its lateral resolution is limited by the size of the antenna. The resolution
of standard RADAR is several meters at a distance of 100 meters
• LiDAR data is of much higher accuracy and resolution when compared
with RADAR data, making it possible to build exact 3D models of objects
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 Atmospheric Remote Sensing from Space
Low-Earth orbit
• Polar Orbiting Environmental
Satellites (POES)
• 400-1000 km altitude
• 80-100 minute orbit
• Earth rotates under the satellite path

Geostationary orbit
• Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites (GOES)
• 36,000 km altitude
• 24 hour orbit
• Earth rotates exactly with the satellite GNR 621
Nadir and Limb observations
GOES vs POES
• Geostationary satellites : Good Temporal Resolution–Imagery is obtained
and displayed approximately every 15 minutes
• In the case of severe weather, or hurricanes, passes over smaller areas are able to be
obtained every 2-5 minutes.
• Poor Spatial Resolution–At a high altitude and fixed point, geostationary
satellites can view a large, fixed area
• Equatorial regions are covered well, polar regions are covered poorly
• Polar orbiting satellites travel in a circular orbit moving from pole to pole
• Significantly closer to the Earth (~ 800 km) than geostationary.
• Collect data in a swath as the Earth rotates on its axis.
• “Sees” the entire planet twice in a 24 hour period (Landsat-8 16 days and
Sentinel-2 10 days (two satellites 5 days).
• Takes ~1 hour and 42 minutes to complete a full orbit.
Satellite coverage
• A single geostationary satellite obviously cannot provide complete
global coverage.
• However, a single geostationary satellite can see approximately 42%
of the Earth's surface with coverage falling off towards the satellite is
not able to “see” the surface. This occurs around the equator and also
towards the polar regions
• There are three widely used atmospheric windows (channels)
―Visible (0.55 – 0.75 microns)
―MidIR (6.5 – 6.7 microns) (water vapor)
―Thermal IR (10 – 12 microns)

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GNR 621
Indian Geostationary Satellite
• Kalpana – 1
―Visible : 0.55 –0.75 μm ( 2 km resolution)
―MidIR : 5.7 –7.1 μm (8 km x 8 km) (water vapor)
―TIR : 10.5 -12.5 µm ( 8 km x 8 km)
• INSAT – 3D
―VHRR/2 (Very High Resolution Radiometer-2)
―0.55 -0.75 µm, VIS (Visible) (1 km spatial resolution)
―1.55 -1.70 µm, SWIR (Short Wave Infrared)( 1 km )
―3.80 -4.00 µm, MWIR (Mid Wave Infrared) (4 km )
―6.50 -7.10 µm, WV (Water Vapor) (8 km )
―10.3 -11.3 µm, TIR-1 (Thermal Infrared) (4 km )
―11.5 -12.5 µm, TIR-2 (Thermal Infrared) (4 km )
IMD Website showing
Visible and IR images

[Link]
Polar Orbiting Satellite
POES
• Good Spatial Resolution – Lower altitude results in higher resolution
images and atmospheric profiles
• Poor Temporal Resolution – Over any point on Earth, the satellite
only captures two images per day
Next time … Weather Observations from Space
Forward and Inverse Problems
Retrieval of Atmospheric Parameters

Annyeong!