3D Radiative Transfer in Cloudy Atmospheres

by Alexander Marshak (Editor), Anthony Davis (Editor)

Overview

Developments in three-dimensional cloud radiation over the past few decades are assessed and distilled into this contributed volume. Chapters are authored by subject-matter experts who address a broad audience of graduate students, researchers, and anyone interested in cloud-radiation processes in the solar and infrared spectral regions. After two introductory chapters and a section on the fundamental physics and computational techniques, the volume extensively treats two main application areas: the impact of clouds on the Earth's radiation budget, which is an essential aspect of climate modeling; and remote observation of clouds, especially with the advanced sensors on current and future satellite missions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783540239581
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	09/26/2005
Series:	Physics of Earth and Space Environments
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	686
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.05(d)

Table of Contents

Preliminaries.- Scales, Tools and Reminiscences.- Observing Clouds and Their Optical Properties.- Fundamentals.- A Primer in 3D Radiative Transfer.- Numerical Methods.- Approximation Methods in Atmospheric 3D Radiative Transfer Part 1: Resolved Variability and Phenomenology.- Climate.- Approximation Methods in Atmospheric 3D Radiative Transfer Part 2: Unresolved Variability and Climate Applications.- 3D Radiative Transfer in Shastic Media.- Effective Cloud Properties for Large-Scale Models.- Broadband Irradiances and Heating Rates for Cloudy Atmospheres.- Longwave Radiative Transfer in Inhomogeneous Cloud Layers.- Remote Sensing.- 3D Radiative Transfer in Satellite Remote Sensing of Cloud Properties.- Horizontal Fluxes and Radiative Smoothing.- Photon Paths and Cloud Heterogeneity: An Observational Strategy to Assess Effects of 3D Geometry on Radiative Transfer.- 3D Radiative Transfer in Vegetation Canopies and Cloud-Vegetation Interaction.

Editorial Reviews

"The book is a tour de force, a thorough description of the pioneering work on 3D radiative transfer for the past couple of decades. Much of this work was undertaken by the sixteen authors and two editors." Jim Coackley, AMS Bulletin, 2007

From the Publisher