Radiative Transfer

Question 1

Radiance

Answer 1

the total amount of it that reaches the satellite is a combo of the surface contribution and the atmosphere contribution.
atmosphere can contribute anywhere from 0%-100% of the radiance, while surface contributes the rest. (signals must add to 100%)

Question 2

Weighting Function

Answer 2

reveals how the picky atmosphere affects the amount of radiance that reaches the satellite sensor.
if weighting function is appropriate, we can interpret where the detected radiance is coming from

Question 3

Beer’s Law

Answer 3

describes how energy is transmitted to the satellite from the surface and/or from atmospheric layers.
When all contributions of Beers Law are added, we get the total radiance detected by satellite

Question 4

radiative transfer equation

Answer 4

The equation that adds all the contributions together 
T - temperature
p - pressure
λ - wavelength 
Rλ - radiance 
ελ - emissivity 
Bλ - blackbody radiance from plank function
τλ - transmissivity/transmittance

Question 5

Surface contribution/atmospheric contribution

Answer 5

SEE SHEET