Radiative Transfer and Climate
• Read Chapter 3 in Hartmann
• Assignment 1 due Friday September 20
Terminology
• Radiance is energy per
unit solid angle, usually
referred to in a given
band of wavelengths
• Flux (or irradiance) is the
total energy passing
through a plane
(integral of radiance)
• θ = zenith angle
• ϕ azimuth angle
• dω solid angle increment
1
Solar Absorption
• Absorption
depends on path
length through
the atmosphere,
not vertical
distance
• dz = ds cos θ
• ds = dz / cos θ
• ds = dz sec θ
dF = − kabs ρ a Fds
Beers Law (absorption)
dF = −kabs ρ a Fds
(convert from ds to dz)
(define optical depth)
(optical depth is a very convenient coord!)
Exponential “decay” of
radiation as it passes
through absorbing gas
2
Atmospheric Absorption and Heating
(density of absorbing gas decreases with z
H is scale height = RT/g)
(optical depth as a function of height
and mixing ratio of absorber)
(differentiate and divide … simple
relationship between optical depth and z)
(Heating rate is flux divergence)
µ ≡ cos θ
Heating!
Absorption Local flux
Absorption (Heating) Rate (cont’d)
Where is max heating?
Find out by differentiating previous equation
w.r.t. τ, setting to zero, and solving for τ
not 0 τ/µ = 1
• Maximum absorption occurs at level of unit
optical depth
• Higher in the atmosphere as sun is closer to
horizon
3
Thermal Absorption and Emission
• Upwelling terrestrial
radiation is absorbed
and emitted by each
layer
• As with solar radiation,
path length ds is the
distance of interest,
rather than dz
• Also have to consider
solid angle dω
Infrared Radiative Transfer
For radiance of a given frequency ν
passing through a thin layer along a path ds
dIν = Eν − Aν
emission absorption (Beer’s Law)
Kirchoff’s Law: aν = εν
emissivity
Planck so εν = ρa ds kν
function
Planck intensity
Gathering terms:
4
Infrared Radiative Transfer (cont’d)
Previous result:
Convert to z:
Define optical depth from surface up:
Rewrite result in τ coordinate:
IR Radiative Transfer
Schwarzchild’s Equation
Previous result:
Multiply by integrating factor eτ n / µ
5
Schwarzchild’s Equation
Interpretation
Radiance at a Sum of weighted by
Emission Absorption
given optical emissions absorptivity/
from sfc
depth (z) and below τ from each emissivity of each
angle atm level layer in between
• Upwelling radiance at a given level has
contributions from the surface and from every
other level in between
• Relative contributions are controlled by vertical
profiles of temperature and absorbing gases
Molecular Absorbers/Emitters
• Molecules of gas in the
atmosphere interact with
photons of electromagnetic
radiation
• Different kinds of molecular
transitions can absorb/emit
very different wavelengths
of radiation
• Some molecules are able to
interact much more with
photons than others
• Different molecular
structures produce
wavelength-dependent
absorptivity/emissivity
6
Atmospheric Absorption
• Triatomic
modelcules have
the most
absorption bands
• Complete
absorption from
5-8 µ (H2O) and
> 14 µ(CO2)
• Little absorption
between about
8 µ and 11 µ
(“window”)
Line Broadening
• Molecular absorption takes place
at distinct wavelengths
(frequencies, energy levels)
• Actual spectra feature
absorption “bands” with broader
features
• Pressure broadening
– Collisions among molecules dissipate
energy as kinetic
• Doppler broadening
– Relative motions among molecules
and photons
7
Simple Flux Form of RTE
(see Appendix D in Hartmann)
Hartmann)
Integrate Schwarzchild across thermal IR and
across all angles and make simplifying assumptions
to obtain simpler expressions for upwelling and
downwelling radiative fluxes
upwelling:
blackbody emission transmission functions
(temperature dependence) (emissivity and radiances)
downwelling:
IR Fluxes and Heating
Net flux(z):
Heating rate:
TOA OLR
IR at sfc
OLR and downward IR at surface depend on
temperature profile and transmission functions
8
Transmission Functions and Heating
• Think of upwelling and
downwelling IR as
weighted averages of σT4
• The change in
transmission function
with height is the
weighting function
• Downwelling IR at
surface comes from
lower troposphere
• Upwelling IR at TOA
comes from mid-upper
Vertical profiles of troposphere
atmospheric LW transmission • This is the basis for the
functions and temperature “greenhouse effect”
2-Layer Atmosphere
Transmission-weighted fluxes can be used to develop
a simple 2-layer atmospheric RT balance
9
Radiative Balances by Layer
For every layer:
Energy In = Energy Out
S0
(1 − α p ) = σ T1
4
TOA
4
L1 σ T2 4 = 2σ T14
L2 σ Ts 4 + σ T14 = 2σ T2 4
S0
(1 − α p ) + σ T2 = 2σ Ts
4 4
Surface
4
10
2-Layer BB Atmosphere (cont’d)
• Solving energy
budgets for all layers
simultaneously gives
4 ( S0 4 ) (1 − α p ) 4
TS = 3 = 3Te
σ
• Recall from Ch 2 that
a 1 layer B-B
atmosphere produces
Vertical temperature profile for 2-
Ts4 = 2Te4
layer atmosphere, with thin • In general, an n-layer
graybody layers at top and bottom. B-B atmosphere will
have Ts4 = (n+1)Te4
Very unrealistic lapse rate!!
Why?
Cloud Radiative Properties:
Dependence on Liquid Water Path
• Recall a + r + τ = 1
• Thick clouds reflect and absorb more than thin (duh!)
• Generally reflect more than absorb, but less true at
low solar zenith angles
11
Cloud Radiative Properties:
Dependence on Drop Size
• Small droplets make
brighter clouds
• Larger droplets
absorb more
• Dependence on
liquid water path at
all droplet sizes too
Cloud Radiative Properties
Longwave Emissivity
• Clouds are very good LW absorbers. Clouds with
LWC > 20 g/m2) are almost blackbodies!
• Compare to previous figure …
albedo goes up way past where ε ~ 1 … implications?
12
Radiative-Convective Models
(a recipe)
• Consider a 1-D atmosphere Tn εn
• Specify solar radiation at the
top, emissivity of each layer
• Calculate radiative equilibrium
temperature for each layer
• Check for static stability
• If layers are unstable, mix them!
…
– (e.g. if Γ > Γd, set both T’s to mass-
weighted mean of the layer pair) T3 ε3
• Add clouds and absorbing gases
T1 ε1
to taste
Manabe and Strickler (1964)
Radiative-Convective Equilibrium
• Pure radiative
equilibrium is way
too hot at surface
• Adjusting to Γd still
too steep
• Adjusting to
observed 6.5 K km-1
produces fairly
reasonable profile:
– Sfc temp (still hot)
– Tropopause (OK)
– Stratosphere (OK)
13
Radiative-Convective Equilibrium
Effect of Different Absorbers
• Water vapor
alone …
atmosphere is
cooler
• H2O + CO2 …
almost 10 K
warmer
• H2O + CO2 + O3
… stratosphere
appears!
Radiative-Convective Equilibrium
Radiative Heating Rates
• LH20 LCO2, and LO3
show longwave cooling
• S indicates heating by
solar absorption
• NET combines all
• Heating and cooling
nearly balance in
stratosphere
• Troposphere cools
strongly (~ 1.5 K/day)
• How is this cooling
balanced?
– In the RCM?
– In the real world?
14
Radiative-Convective Equilibrium
Effects of Clouds
• Clouds absorb LW
• Clouds reflect SW
• Which effect “wins?”
• Depends on emitting T
• For low clouds, σT4 ~ σTs4 ,
so SW effect is greater
• For high clouds, σT4 << σTs4
so LW effect “wins”
• High clouds warm
• Low clouds cool
Details are sensitive to optical
properties and distributions of
clouds, but remember the
basic conclusion
Observed Mean Cloud Fraction
high clouds
( < 440 mb)
• High clouds mostly due to
tropical convection
(Amazon, Congo,
Indonesia, W. Pacific)
low clouds
( > 680 mb) • Low clouds
(stratocumulus) over
eastern parts of
subtropical ocean basins
– Cold SST
– Subsiding air
all clouds
– Strong inversion
15
Annual Mean Cloud Forcing
∆ OLR • “Cloud forcing” is
defined as the
difference between a
“clearsky” and “all sky”
measurement
∆ solar abs
• How is this
accomplished?
• At the surface,
(a) is all warming, and
(b) is all cooling
∆ Rnet • Net effect of clouds
is to cool the surface,
but changes can go
either way
Global Mean Cloud Radiative Forcing
• Clouds increase planetary albedo from 15% to 30%
• This reduces absorbed solar by 48 W m-2
• Reduced solar is offset by 31 W m-2 of LW warming
(greenhouse)
• So total cloud forcing is –17 W m-2
• Clouds cool the climate. By how much? How might this number
change if cloudiness increased?
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