CHAPTER 7

Radiative Processes and Heat Transfer

We have seen in the previous three chapters some of the effects of solar radiation
on the upper atmosphere. It is clear that the composition and thermal structure
of the upper atmosphere are profoundly affected by absorption of this radiation.
Another important part of the picture that must be considered is the internal
transfer and ultimate disposition of this energy. In the long run, the earth-atmo-
sphere system as a whole must radiate back to space as much energy as it receives.
However, a radiative balance need not and in general does not occur during
particular time periods at particular locations. The atmosphere has efficient
mechanisms for the internal transfer of heat. As a matter of fact, a time-honored
approach to the problem of atmospheric circulation is to regard radiative
imbalance as the driving force for the circulation. Although the total problem
is really a nonlinear one, this is a useful approach because the radiative processes
(complicated as they are) are amenable to order-of-magnitude calculations
whose results place certain constraints on the much more complicated problem
of the circulation.
In the stratosphere and mesosphere radiative transfer results from the infrared
radiations of the minor polyatomic constituents water vapor, carbon dioxide,
and ozone. In Section 7.1 we discuss the usual meteorological formulation of
this problem, with emphasis on the peculiar difficulties that arise in connection
with applications to the upper atmosphere. At high enough levels, probably in
the upper mesosphere, this usual formulation is inadequate because of the
inapplicability of Kirchhoffs law. At still higher levels, probably in the lower
thermosphere, polyatomic constituents must disappear in the presence of
dissociating radiation; however, other mechanisms of radiative heat loss become
important. Section 7.2 considers these general problems. At high enough levels
in the thermosphere, the heat gained from solar energy is lost mainly by molecular
conduction downward to the lower levels. The problem of thermospheric
conduction and the resulting temperature distribution are considered in
Section 7.3.

7.1 Infrared Transfer in the Atmosphere

Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ozone all possess important bands in the
part of the spectrum where black-body emission is relatively large at atmospheric
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temperatures. According to (4.26), the wavelength of maximum emission varies

from 14.5 when the temperature is 200°K to 9.7 when the temperature is
300°K.These temperatures include most of those that occur up to the mesopause.
The most important radiating constituent of the troposphere is water vapor.
In the spectral region of interest, this gas has a vibration-rotation band centered
near 6.3 which is of importance, and an extensive structure of pure rotational
lines lying mainly on the long-wave side of 20p. Because of its presumably
small concentration above the tropopause, the contribution of water vapor to
the radiative balance of the stratosphere and mesosphere is believed to be small
and is usually neglected.
Carbon dioxide is a symmetrical molecule and has no pure rotational transi-
tions. In the spectral region of interest, it has a very strong vibration-rotation
band centered near In the troposphere, this band is usually neglected
insofar as flux and cooling rates are concerned, because its very
strength causes quite thin atmospheric layers to be opaque in the region of
the band. In the stratosphere and mesosphere, however, this band assumes
great importance.
The ozone molecule has vibration-rotation bands at 9.0p and 9.6p, the
second of which is considerably stronger (Kaplan 1956). Another such
band lies near 14p and partially overlaps the carbon dioxide band. Of
these, the absorption and emission near 9 to 10 are the more important because
in this region of the spectrum the atmosphere is otherwise nearly transparent.

I I I I I

2
t
I
W

m
I
Y
a
m

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
WAVELENGTH (p)

FIG.7.1. Schematic representation of the infrared spectrum of air. The curve shows
black-body emittance at 300°K in relative units. The hatched areas represent the
spectral regions of appreciable absorption due to H,O and 0,.