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The sensitivity of Earth-based infrared telescopes is significantly limited by water vapor in the atmosphere, which absorbs a portion of the infrared radiation arriving from space outside of selected atmospheric windows. This limitation can be partially alleviated by placing the telescope observatory at a high altitude, or by carrying the ...
The infrared atmospheric window is an atmospheric window in the infrared spectrum where there is relatively little absorption of terrestrial thermal radiation by atmospheric gases. [1] The window plays an important role in the atmospheric greenhouse effect by maintaining the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing IR to space.
The greenhouse effect is a reduction in the flux of outgoing longwave radiation, which affects the planet's radiative balance. The spectrum of outgoing radiation shows the effects of different greenhouse gases. The Earth and its atmosphere emit longwave radiation, also known as thermal infrared or terrestrial radiation.
Longwave radiation is electromagnetic thermal radiation emitted by Earth's surface and atmosphere. Longwave radiation is in the infrared band. But, the terms are not synonymous, as infrared radiation can be either shortwave or longwave. Sunlight contains significant amounts of shortwave infrared radiation. A threshold wavelength of 4 microns is ...
Infrared radiation can pass through dry, clear air in the wavelength range of 8–13 μm. Materials that can absorb energy and radiate it in those wavelengths exhibit a strong cooling effect. Materials that can also reflect 95% or more of sunlight in the 200 nanometres to 2.5 μm range can exhibit cooling even in direct sunlight. [9]
The IPCC reports an outgoing thermal radiation flux (OLR) of 239 (237–242) W m-2 and a surface thermal radiation flux (SLR) of 398 (395–400) W m-2, where the parenthesized amounts indicate the 5-95% confidence intervals as of 2015. These values indicate that the atmosphere (with clouds included) reduces Earth's overall emissivity, relative ...
This radiation is in the infrared portion of the spectrum, but is distinct from the shortwave (SW) near-infrared radiation found in sunlight. [1]: 2251 Outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) is the longwave radiation emitted to space from the top of Earth's atmosphere. [1]: 2241 It may also be referred to as emitted terrestrial radiation. Outgoing ...
Atmospheric transmission of radiation Water vapor window with micro-windows visible. Water vapor windows are wavelengths of infrared light that have little absorption by water vapor in Earth's atmosphere. Because of this weak absorption, these wavelengths are allowed to reach the Earth's surface barring effects from other atmospheric components.