Radiation in the Atmosphere A Course in Theoretical Meteorology

This book presents the theory and applications of radiative transfer in the atmosphere. It is written for graduate students and researchers in the fields of meteorology and related sciences. The book begins with important basic definitions of the radiative transfer theory. It presents the hydrodynamic derivation of the radiative transfer equation and the principles of variance. The authors examine in detail various quasi-exact solutions of the radiative transfer equation and give a thorough treatment of the radiative perturbation theory. A rigorous treatment of Mie scattering is given, including Rayleigh scattering as a special case, and the important efficiency factors for extinction, scattering and absorption are derived. The fundamentals of remote sensing applications of radiative transfer are presented. Problems of varying degrees of difficulty are included at the end of each chapter, allowing readers to further their understanding of the materials covered in the book.

1. Introduction; 2. The radiative transfer equation; 3. Principles of invariance; 4. Quasi-exact solution methods for the radiative transfer equation; 5. Radiative perturbation theory; 6. Two-stream methods for the solution of the radiative transfer equation; 7. Transmission in individual spectral lines and in bands of lines; 8. Absorption by gases; 9. Light scattering theory for spheres; 10. Effects of polarization in radiative transfer; 11. Remote sensing applications of radiative transfer; 12. Influence of clouds on the climate of the Earth; Answers to problems; List of frequently used symbols; References and bibliography; Index.

Wilford Zdunkowski is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany.
Thomas Trautmann is Head of the Unit for Atmospheric Processors at the Remote Sensing Technology Institute, German Aerospace Center (DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and Apl. Professor for Meteorology at Universität Leipzig.
Andreas Bott is a University Professor for Theoretical Meteorology at the Meteorological Institute at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.