RADIATION IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND OCEAN

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ( PHYSICS 202 , 208 , or 248 ) and MATH 234 , or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Define and explain the key concepts, physical laws, and meteorological context of atmospheric radiative transfer processes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe the physical principles of atmospheric absorption spectra, scattering, and absorption by atmospheric particles. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Analyze the radiative transfer problem, including approximate solutions to multiple scattering in a plane-parallel atmosphere and radiative balance in simple systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Identify major absorption bands in the cloud-free atmosphere and compare the absorption, reflection, and emission of radiation by homogeneous and natural surfaces. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Design methods to compute and evaluate radiative transfer phenomena in atmospheric systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Share skills and techniques in analysis and interpretation with classmates. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Define and explain the key concepts, physical laws, and meteorological context of atmospheric radiative transfer processes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe the physical principles of atmospheric absorption spectra, scattering, and absorption by atmospheric particles. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Analyze the radiative transfer problem, including approximate solutions to multiple scattering in a plane-parallel atmosphere and radiative balance in simple systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Identify major absorption bands in the cloud-free atmosphere and compare the absorption, reflection, and emission of radiation by homogeneous and natural surfaces. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Design methods to compute and evaluate radiative transfer phenomena in atmospheric systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Share skills and techniques in analysis and interpretation with classmates. Audience: Graduate