Climate Weather
Describes the average conditions Describes the atmospheric
expected at a specific place at a
given time.A region's climate is
generated by the climate system,
Definition
which has five components:
atmosphere, hydrosphere,
cryosphere, land surface, and
biosphere.
Climate may include
precipitation, temperature,
humidity, sunshine, wind
velocity, phenomena such as fog,
Components
frost, and hail storms over a long
period of time.
By aggregates of weather
statistics over periods of 30 years
Forecast
Aggregating weather statistics
over periods of 30 years ("climate
Determining
factors
normals").
Climate is defined as statistical
weather information that
About describes the variation of weather
at a given place for a specified
interval.
Time period Measured over a long period
Study Climatology
conditions at a specific place at a
specific point in time. Weather
generally refers to day-to-day
temperature and precipitation
activity
Weather includes sunshine, rain,
cloud cover, winds, hail, snow,
sleet, freezing rain, flooding,
blizzards, ice storms,
thunderstorms, steady rains from
a cold front or warm front,
excessive heat, heat waves and
more
By collecting meteorological data,
like air temperature, pressure,
humidity, solar radiation, wind
speeds and direction etc.
Real-time measurements of
atmospheric pressure,
temperature, wind speed and
direction, humidity, precipitation,
cloud cover, and other variables
Weather is the day-to-day state of
the atmosphere, and its short-
term (minutes to weeks) variation
Measured for short term
Meteorology
 Energy Interactions with the Atmosphere
and at the Surface

Solar and Terrestrial Radiation

Most remote sensing instruments are designed to detect solar radiation and
terrestrial radiation

Solar radiation

emr emitted from sun which passes through the atmosphere and is
reflected in varying degrees by Earth's surface and atmosphere

detectable only during daylight

Sun's visible surface (photosphere) has temperature - 6000K

energy radiated from gamma to radio waves

99% of sun's radiation fall between 0.2 - 5.6um; 80% - 0.4 - 1.5um (visible
and reflected infrared, atmosphere quite transparent to incoming solar
radiation

maximum radiation occurs 0.48um (visible)

 about 1/2 of solar radiation passes through the atmosphere and absorbed
in varying degrees by surface

Terrestrial radiation

energy emitted from the Earth and atmosphere

detectable both day and night

Earth's ambient temperature - 300K

Earth radiates 160,000 times less than the sun

essentially all energy is radiated at (invisible) thermal infrared

wavelengths between 4-25um

maximum emission occurs at 9.7um

Problem Set (#3)

Wavelengths covering most of Earth's energy output are several times longer
than those covering most of the solar output. Therefore, refer to following as:

terrestrial radiation - longwave radiation

solar radiation - shortwave radiation

Radiation-Matter Interactions

Incident radiation - energy impinges upon matter

strongest source of incident radiation for earth is sun

incoming solar radiation called Insolation

full moon is 2nd strongest source

When EMR strikes matter 3 interactions may occurs:

transmission

reflection

absorption

Proportion of energy that is transmitted, reflected or absorbed depends upon:

composition and physical properties of medium

wavelength or frequency of incident radiation

angle at which incident radiation strikes a surface

Transmission - process by which incident radiation passes through matter w/o

measurable attenuation (transparent to radiation); cause change in velocity and
wavelength but not frequency
Specular reflection - process whereby incident radiation "bounces off" the surface of
substance in a single, predictable direction; caused by surfaces smooth relative to
wavelengths of incident radiation; no change in velocity or wavelength
Scattering (diffuse reflection) - occurs when incident radiation is dispersed or spread out
unpredictably in many different directions; occurs when surfaces rough relative to
wavelengths of incident radiation; no change in velocity or wavelength

Absorption - process by which incident radiation is taken in by the medium (e.g., surface,
atmospheric particulates, atmospheric layer); medium opaque to incident radiation

Interrelationships between energy interactions expressed as:

Equation (1)

Problem Set (#7)

Opaque materials transmit no incident radiation

Transparent material have little or no absorption and scattering

E.g.,

clear glass - high transmission, low reflection and absorption

fresh snow - high reflectance, low transmission and absorption

fresh asphalt - high absorption, minimum transmission and reflection

EMR-Atmosphere Interactions

EMR travels through space w/o modification

Diversion and depletions occurs as solar and terrestrial radiation interact with earth's
atmosphere

Interference is wavelength selective - meaning at certain wavelengths emr passes freely

through atmosphere, whereas restricted at other wavelengths

atmospheric windows (transmision bands) - areas of ems where specific

wavelengths pass relatively unimpeded through atmosphere

absorption bands (atmospheric blinds) - areas where specific wavelengths are totally or
partially blocked

Objective to study earth's surface - different remote sensing instruments designed to operate
w/i windows where cloudless atmosphere will transmit sufficient radiation for detection

Objective to study atmosphere constituents - operate in atmospheric windows and absorption

bands
EMR interacts w/ atmosphere in # of ways:

absorbed and reradiated at longer wavelengths (causes air temperature to

rise)

reflected or scattered w/o change to either its velocity or wavelength

transmitted in straight-line path directly through the atmosphere

Radiation Balance

Incoming solar radiation = Outgoing longwave radiation

100 = 35 (reflected - albedo) + 65 (terrestrial emitted)

Atmospheric Absorption and Transmission

Most significant absorbers of EMR:

ozone

carbon dioxide

water vapor

oxygen

nitrogen
Absorption-transmission characteristics of cloud-free atmosphere shows gases responsible for
EMR absorption as function of wavelength

16% of shortwave solar radiation absorbed directly by atmospheric gases

2% by clouds

Atmospheric gases - selective absorbers w/ reference to wavelength

Gamma and X-ray - completely absorbed in the upper atmosphere by

Oxygen and Nitrogen

Ultraviolet (<0.2um) - absorbed by molecules of oxygen (O and O2 combine form

ozone); ozone absorbs UV w/ wavelengths -0.2-0.3um in stratosphere

0.9-2.7um - water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb in narrow bands

thermal infrared

o strong absorption by water vapor between 5-8um and 20um-

1,000um (1cm)

o carbon dioxide absorbs 14-20um

o ozone 9-10um
absorbed radiation heats the lower atmosphere
microwave region - 3 relatively narrow absorption bands occur between
0.1 - 0.6cm (oxygen and water vapor)

beyond 0.6cm , atmospheric gases generally do not impede passage of

microwave radiation

Summary

absorption of atmospheric gases has maximum influence in wavelengths

<0.3um and minimum impact on wavelengths greater than 0.6cm

important atmospheric windows exploited in remote sensing -

0.3 - 1.1um UV, visible, near infrared

1.5 - 1.8um Mid infrared

2.0 - 2.4um Mid infrared

3.0 - 5.0um Mid infrared

8.0 - 14.0um Thermal Infrared

(below ozone layer)

10.5 - 12.5 Thermal Infrared

(above ozone layer)

>0.6cm Microwave
Atmospheric windows become less transparent when air is moist (high
humidity)

Clouds absorb most of longwave radiation emitted from Earth's surface

Microwave radiation (>0.9cm) capable of penetrating clouds

Atmospheric Scattering

Scattering process disperses radiation in all directions

Important scattering agents include:

gaseous molecules

suspended particulates (aerosols)

clouds
3 types of atmospheric scattering are important in remote sensing

Rayleigh (molecular) scattering

- primarily caused by oxygen and nitrogen molecules (diameters at least

0.1 times smaller than affected wavelengths)

- most influential at altitudes above 4.5km

- amount of scattering inversely proportional to fourth power of wavelength

Equation (2)

E.g. UV at 0.3um scattered 16x as readily as red 0.6um

Blue 0.4um scattered about 5x as readily as red

- blue sky - preferential scattering of blue wavelengths, clear sky appears

blue in daylight; blue wavelengths reach our eyes

- brilliant colors of sunrise/sunset - solar beam starts out as white light passes though
long atmosphere path causing shorter wavelengths of sunlight to be scattered away
leaving only longer red wavelengths that reach our eyes

Mie (nonmolecular) scattering

- occurs when there are sufficient particles in atmosphere w/ mean

diameter 0.1 to 10 times larger than wavelength under consideration
 - caused by water vapor, tiny particles of smoke, dust, volcanic ejecta, salt crystals
released from evaporation of sea spray

- most pronounced in lower 4.5km of atmosphere

- wavelength dependence varies 1/wavelength

dependent on size distribution and concentration of mie particles

Clear atmosphere is a medium for both Rayleigh and Mie scattering

Nonselective scattering

- occurs when lower atmosphere contains sufficient # of suspended

aerosols (diameters 10 times larger than wavelengths under
consideration)

- important agents include larger equivalents of Mie particles, water droplets and ice
crystals that compose clouds and fogs

- scattering is independent of wavelength (near UV, visible, near infrared)

clouds appear brilliant white - colorless water droplet and ice crystals scatter all
wavelengths equally well w/i visible

Skylight and Haze

Clear sky is source of illumination because its gases preferentially scatter shorter
wavelengths of sunlight

diffuse radiation (skylight, sky radiation)

EMR - Surface Interactions

Natural and man-made (cultural) features of Earth's surface interact with solar
radiation differently

On average, 50% of incident shortwave radiation on TOA reaches and interacts with Earth's
surface features

50% incident @ surface = 4% reflected directly + 46% absorbed

Absorbed

- proportion of absorbed shortwave radiation is reradiated or emitted back to

atmosphere as longwave terrestrial radiation (5%)
- most heat emitted at wavelengths falling within thermal infrared atmospheric windows;
contains information about different temperature properties of Earth's surface features

Albedo - average amount of incident radiation reflected by an object/feature

Equation (3)

Albedo of Earth's - atmosphere system (50% cloud cover) - 30%

- meaning 30% of insolation is reflected, 70% absorbed

- earth made visible from space only by its albedo

Earth's brightest features - clouds, snow and ice surfaces; darkest - water bodies

Percent reflected energy from Earth's surface objects/features

Albedo also helps explain how warm an object becomes when exposed to sunlight

-objects w/ high albedo are good reflectors but poor absorbers (dictates slow and
small temperature increases)

- objects w/ low albedo are poor reflectors but good absorbers (dictates rapid and large jumps
in temperature when exposed to sunlight)

E.g., walking barefoot on black asphalt versus grass

wearing light or dark clothing on summer day

Spectral Signatures
Every natural and synthetic object reflects and emits emr over a range of
wavelengths in its own characteristic way according to is chemical composition
and physical state

spectral signatures - distinctive reflectance and emittance properties of objects/features and

their conditions

- w/i some limited wavelength region, particular object/feature or condition

exhibit a diagnostic spectral response pattern that differs from other objects

- remote sensing depends upon operation in wavelength regions where detectable differences
in reflected and emitted radiation occur; features and their different conditions show enough
variation to allow for individual identification

Typical spectral signature of vegetation, soil and water

From monsoon depression to tropical cyclone

In the Observatory's Blog of 3 July this year, we talked about monsoon depression,
mentioning how it may develop into a tropical cyclone under favourable atmospheric
conditions. Let us talk more on this topic now.

In terms of structures, monsoon depression and tropical depression exhibited quite different
characteristics. Generally speaking, convections near the centre of a monsoon depression are
relatively weak while high winds are often found at its periphery. For a mature tropical
cyclone, however, convections near the centre are stronger and sustained, and the region of
high winds is concentrated near its centre. Therefore, when a monsoon depression develops
into a tropical cyclone, its structure will evolve throughout the transition process.

On many occasions, more than one circulation centres can be found in a monsoon depression.
Some of them may weaken while some may intensify. Intensification of a monsoon
depression requires favourable atmospheric environment, such as weak vertical wind shear
(no significant differences in wind directions or speeds between upper and lower levels of the
atmosphere), abundant moisture supply and higher sea temperature. If convections near one
of the circulation centres of a monsoon depression become stronger and sustained, the
monsoon depression may intensify into a tropical cyclone. The region of high winds of this
kind of tropical cyclone is usually located around the periphery at the initial stage of
development. When convections near the centre continue to develop, the region of strongest
winds will shift gradually from the periphery towards the centre. The whole system will
further intensify and develop into a mature tropical cyclone.