Radiation and Cloud Processes in the Atmosphere Theory, Observation and Modeling

The field of atmospheric radiation and remote sensing has seen significant advances in recent years. This monograph addresses those advances and fills the need for an up-to-date, cohesive integration of radiative transfer and cloud physics, allowing for the better forcast of weather on mediumand long-range levels. The author here offers a systematic discussion of the transfer of solar and thermal infrared radiation in the atmosphere, and of aspects of cloud processes pertinent to radiative transfer. The book focuses largely on the physical principles and approximations that arerequired to develop important topics in atmospheric radiation, cloud physics, and thermal equilibrium. Aspects of the interactions and feedbacks of radiation-cloud and dynamic and climate processes are discussed using a hierarchy of atmospheric models. Radiometric data obtained from the ground,the air, and space are frequently employed to illustrate physical processes in the atmosphere as well as to cross check theoretical results. The author also cogently discusses the application of the radiative transfer principle to remote sensing of atmospheric and cloud parameters. This book forthe first time bridges the gap between cloud-radiation and dynamic processes in the atmosphere. It will be welcomed by meteorologists, earth scientists, and researchers interested in atmospheric modelling and radiation.Liou, Kuo-Nan is the author of 'Radiation and Cloud Processes in the Atmosphere Theory, Observation and Modeling' with ISBN 9780195049107 and ISBN 0195049101.