The Earth’s Clear-Sky Radiation Budget and Water Vapor Absorption in the Far Infrared

Contribution of water vapor dimers to clear sky absorption of solar radiation

Using recently derived-values of the water vapor dimer spectral absorption cross section we calculate the water vapor dimer contribution to the clear sky absorption of solar radiation. We consider the water dimer concentrations deduced from local equilibrium thermodynamics, and we account for the overlap of water vapor dimer and monomer absorption bands. We estimate that water vapor dimer contr...

Water vapor absorption of visible and near infrared radiation.

Water vapor error function absorption coefficients for visible and near ir radiation have been recalculated from experimental transmission data. The error function absorption coefficients and the resulting transmissions as a function of precipitable water vapor are tabulated for wavelengths from 0.2 micro to 1.3 micro. Comparisons are made between computed and measured spectral transmittances.

A clear-sky radiance archive from Meteosat ”water vapor” observations

An investigation of the sensitivity of the clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation to atmospheric temperature and water vapor

[1] The rate at which the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) responds to perturbations in temperature and moisture plays a fundamental role in determining climate sensitivity. This study examines the clear-sky OLR sensitivities to temperature and water vapor, as quantified by its partial derivatives (radiative Jacobians). The Jacobians, as computed by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (G...

An analysis of the dependence of clear-sky top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation on atmospheric temperature and water vapor

[1] We have analyzed observations of clear-sky top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) measured by the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES). These measurements were obtained during March 2005 at night and over the ocean and cover latitudes from 70 N to 70 S. First, we compare the OLR measurements to OLR calculated from two radiative transfer models. The models use as...