An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation

An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation, Third Edition is a comprehensive look at radiative transfer and its interaction with the atmosphere, which involves multiple processes that occur over a wide range of spatial-temporal scales. Progress has been made on many fronts in this area and new directions of research continues to emerge. The book will have 9 chapters, starting with the fundamentals of radiative transfer in the atmosphere and followed by its interactions with the atmospheric processes.

An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation, Third Edition has been extensively revised to address the fundamental study, physical understanding, and quantitative analysis of the interactions of solar and terrestrial radiation with molecules, aerosols, and cloud particles in planetary atmospheres through the theory of radiative transfer and radiometric observations made from the ground, the air, and space. Further, it outlines the scientific foundations that are central to our current understanding of atmospheric radiative transfer and how datasets deduced from satellite remote sensing can be combined with radiation parameterizations in weather and climate models to comprehend radiative transfer interactions, including feedback, with greenhouse gases, cloud, and aerosol.

The 3rd edition will include definitions of radiation-related terms, literature review for each topic, recent developments, applications of radiation to remote sensing, and climate and climate change, as well as authors’ points of view and opinions on future research direction in this field. The new edition also includes a new chapter on aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions in climate and climate change.

In addition, readers will have access to a powerful, state-of-the-art computational code, Fu-Liou-Gu radiation scheme, for simulating radiative transfer processes in the atmosphere. This computational code has been officially included in the widely used community Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), referred to as FLG module, and will be an efficient and excellent educational aid as well as a research tool that can be applied to solve a variety of research problems in atmospheric, climate, and environmental sciences.

• Presents a fully updated and revised edition, including new topics in atmospheric radiation and a new chapter on aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions in climate and climate change

• Includes access to the state-of-the-art computational code, Fu-Liou-Gu radiation scheme, for simulating radiative transfer processes in the atmosphere

• Features examples and hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter