Radiation

Question 1

Which radiation is strongly absorbed by clouds?

Answer 1

Longwave

Question 2

Considering shortwave radiation, which terms in the Schwarzchild Equations may be neglected (assuming clear sky with no aerosols)

Answer 2

rho . a. J =0 as source function is very small.
b = 0 as there is no scattering from clouds.

Question 3

What is the relationship between intensity of shortwave radiation and atmospheric depth?

Answer 3

Radiation intensity decays with depth when assuming density, rho, and absorption coefficient, a, are constants.

Question 4

What is the formula for optical depth?

Answer 4

chi = \int(rho a dz)

Question 5

What is the Planck Radiation Law?

Answer 5

It describes the balck body radiation of an object at a given wavelength.

Question 6

How do we retrives the Stefan-Boltzmann Law from the Planck Radiation Law?

Answer 6

We integrate over all wavelengths.

Question 7

What does the Planck Radiation Law tell us?

Answer 7

Hotter objects emit more radiation at all wavelengths, however due to the sun’s distance, the Earth dominates the longwave spectrum locally.

Question 8

Which assumptions do we make when considering the Schwarzchild equations for Longwave?

Answer 8

Assume a clear sky with no aerosols so scattering, b, set to zero.
Assume emission is blackbody-like so J = pi B_lambda

Question 9

Which approximation must we make when considering the Schwarzchild equations for Longwave?

Answer 9

Implore the diffuse approximation (multiplies RHS by 5/3)

Question 10

When does the diffuse approximation apply/

Answer 10

When considering longwave radiation intensity for the Schwarzchild Equations and expression for chi (optical depth)

Question 11

What is the integrating factor we use for longwave Schawrzchild Equation solving?

Answer 11

e^(- chi) when considering upwelling radiation, e^(chi) when considering downwelling