The
electromagnetic radiation that the earth receives from the sun has two
major benefits: It provides information about the state of our world and
it provides the tremendous amount of energy summing up to 4,8 TJ (1015
J) every day. Its maximum is in the visible part of the spectrum. Before
this radiation reaches the ground it is strongly modified by absorption
and scattering processes. The most important ones are scattering and reflection
by clouds, Rayleigh scattering by air molecules, absorption by atmospheric
ozone, water vapour and CO2. If not reflected back to space
the radiation is absorbed either at the ground or within the atmosphere
and reemitted as longwave infrared radiation. Understanding the meteorological
radiation processes is important for studies on:
- Solar energy- Climate change due to increased emission of greenhouse gases- Atmospheric Chemistry