ESS227
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Selective Absorption and Emission
qThe atmosphere is not a
perfect blackbody, it absorbs some wavelength of radiation and
is transparent to others (such as solar radiation). è Greenhouse effect.
qObjective that
selectively absorbs radiation usually selectively emit radiation at the
same wavelength.
qFor example, water
vapor and CO2 are strong absorbers of infrared radiation and poor absorbers
of visible solar radiation.
(from
The Atmosphere)