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Rayleigh scattering of sunlight in Earth's atmosphere causes diffuse sky radiation, which is the reason for the blue color of the daytime and twilight sky, as well as the yellowish to reddish hue of the low Sun. Sunlight is also subject to Raman scattering, which changes the rotational state of the molecules and gives rise to polarization ...
Scattering and absorption are major causes of the attenuation of sunlight radiation by the atmosphere. Scattering varies as a function of the ratio of particle diameters (of particulates in the atmosphere) to the wavelength of the incident radiation. When this ratio is less than about one-tenth, Rayleigh scattering occurs. (In this case, the ...
According to the American National Center for Atmospheric Research, "The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480 × 10 18 kg with an annual range due to water vapor of 1.2 or 1.5 × 10 15 kg, depending on whether surface pressure or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than the previous estimate.
Multiple-scattering effects of light scattering by particles are treated by radiative transfer techniques (see, e.g. atmospheric radiative transfer codes). The relative size of a scattering particle is defined by its size parameter x, which is the ratio of its characteristic dimension to its wavelength:
The ionosphere is a layer of partially ionized gases high above the majority of the Earth's atmosphere; these gases are ionized by cosmic rays originating on the sun. When radio waves travel into this zone, which commences about 80 kilometers above the earth, they experience diffraction in a manner similar to the visible light phenomenon described above. [1]
It is more common that scattering centers are grouped together; in such cases, radiation may scatter many times, in what is known as multiple scattering. [11] The main difference between the effects of single and multiple scattering is that single scattering can usually be treated as a random phenomenon, whereas multiple scattering, somewhat ...
Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science that studies the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets. This multidisciplinary approach of research draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology, climatology and other disciplines to understand both natural and human-induced changes in atmospheric ...
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation by water depends on the state of the water. The absorption in the gas phase occurs in three regions of the spectrum. Rotational transitions are responsible for absorption in the microwave and far-infrared , vibrational transitions in the mid-infrared and near-infrared .