Questions tagged [radiative-transfer]

Transfer of heat/energy through Electromagnetic waves Radiation (EMF)

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1 vote
0 answers
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Forecasted temperature in the shade vs. theoretical "feels-like" temperature in the sun

I understand that different objects absorb different amounts of light (blackbody absorption). I wonder how feasible it would be to calculate the approximate temperature in the sun based upon the ...
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2 votes
1 answer
78 views

How does a volcanic eruption cool the planet's surface?

For example, after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 according to this paper, The introduction of large amounts of sulphuric acid aerosol into the stratosphere increases the planetary albedo (...
6 votes
1 answer
119 views

Interpretation of Mie scattering

I’m usually on Physics SE, but this question seems to fit better into Earth Sciences: I’m interested in radiation transfer and in particular Mie scattering in the atmosphere. So I did some calculation ...
4 votes
0 answers
31 views

Estimating longwave radiative forcing from clouds from direct/diffuse shortwave components

I am trying to estimate the downward longwave forcing from clouds. I have in-situ measurements of the direct and diffuse components of the incoming shortwave radiation, and I also have the top-of-...
4 votes
1 answer
185 views

Connection between radiative imbalance and radiative forcing

There seems to be a general consensus that the Earth is in radiative imbalance, i.e., it is absorbing more solar energy than it radiates. One figure I've seen bandied about for this imbalance is that ...
1 vote
0 answers
35 views

Do Self-Aggregation Simulations Depend Crucially on Radiative-Convective Equilibrium (RCE) Initial Conditions?

I've been reading papers on convective self-aggregation, such as Bretherton (2005) and Khairoutdinov (2003), and it's not clear to me why (or whether) self-aggregation depends on the model being ...
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27 votes
3 answers
10k views

Antarctic and arctic meltwater is "bad" because it's dark, but why is transparent liquid on white stuff so dark?

The Washington Post's Antarctic heat wave melted 20 percent of an island’s snow cover in days, caused melt ponds to proliferate includes the figure below of meltwater ponds on top of snow/ice. The ...
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13 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why are the clouds white and Australia black in weather satellite infrared images?

The question Is the sunlight on the GOES-16 Imagery reaching from the east? shows a visible light image and so in the night areas the Earth appears dark and in the day areas the Earth is a bit ...
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3 votes
1 answer
134 views

How does Earth's thermal radiation into space vary by location and time of day?

CHEOPS (also 1, 2, 3) is a space telescope recently put in low Earth orbit to look for exoplanets around other stars. It uses a cooled detector array and so uses a heat shield to avoid thermal ...
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5 votes
0 answers
54 views

Amount of scattered vs. direct UV light from the Sun

I was wondering about the common saying that on a sunny, cloud-free day, depending on location, you can get a sunburn even when spending the whole day in the shadows. Already our blue sky provides ...
7 votes
1 answer
864 views

Is there a formula that gives the temperature of an object or person exposed to the sun?

It is well known that temperature sensors are often shaded, partially to mitigate the variability due to varying cloud cover. However, most people experience temperature within the sunlight. Other ...
0 votes
1 answer
243 views

Modified blackbody model of earth. What is wrong with it? [closed]

I have made a modified blackbody model that predict earth temperature distribution with high accuracy. It doesn´t include mass or gases. It is based on the initial thought that all energy above ...
4 votes
0 answers
237 views

How to output slope parameter and shape parameter in WRF?

I'd like to ask if it's possible to output slope parameter and shape parameter of cloud hydrometeors in WRF? I'm calculating cloud effective radius and I'm using the formula found in Morrison scheme ...
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3 votes
3 answers
396 views

What are the major contributors to the amount of infra-red emitted by the earth?

From the answers from an earlier question, I learned that most of the solar radiation gained by the earth system (atmosphere, surface, and inner mass) is re-radiated back into space in the form of ...
2 votes
2 answers
308 views

Why doesn't the earth become superheated?

One day I was sitting in an Atlanta traffic jam wondering about all the engine exhaust heat warming the localised environment. Later that night, things will have cooled down. Where did the heat go? ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

shortwave and longwave radiation terminology, direct, beam, PAR, flux?

Some reanalysis data sets provide different components of shortwave radiation (near infrared and visible) and longwave. They are referred as radiation or flux. Also there is no mention of "direct" ...
17 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why are clouds darker before it rains?

What causes the darker color of the clouds (nimbus) when it is about to rain? Non-precipitating clouds (e.g., cumulus, stratus) tend to be white, but rain clouds become gray and almost black before it ...
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13 votes
1 answer
996 views

Dry atmospheric temperature profile (dry adiabatic vs. isothermal)

I'm trying to understand why there are differing predictions of the atmospheric temperature profile. It is well established that the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) is: $$ \frac{\mathrm{d}T}{\mathrm{...
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23 votes
5 answers
32k views

Is the color of the sky the same everywhere on earth?

Is the color of the sky at noon (local time) in, say, NY, Buenos Aires, London, Nairobi, Sydney, New Delhi and Tokyo the same? I choose the specific time of noon to exclude the twilight colors of the ...
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35 votes
4 answers
3k views

How does anthropogenic heating affect global warming?

Anthropogenic-sourced greenhouse gases are commonly cited as the main source for human-caused climate change. However, something that I never see discussed is the actual heat produced by human ...
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