| Abstract: | A study of the radiation balance of the atmosphere involves the determination of the absorption and emission of radiant energy due to the different constituents of the atmosphere. In the stratosphere below 50 km., these are mainly ozone, CO2 and water vapour. The major part of the absorbed energy is from solar radiation, the actual absorption at different levels being determined by the absorption coefficients of these gases and their vertical distributions. In this paper, a detailed survey is made of all the available data and of the recent methods developed for using such data, and after proper selection, curves are prepared giving the solar energy absorbed by different quantities of O3, CO2 and H2O. These are used to calculate the absorption of solar energy per unit volume and per unit mass in different 2 km. layers for certain vertical distributions of the constituents. It is seen that the mass density of absorption due to ozone above 50 km. becomes much larger than that due to CO2 and H2O while in the region below 30 km., they become comparable. Water vapour becomes more and more effective as we approach the earth. |
