Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere and Ocean

This new and completely updated edition gives a detailed description of radiative transfer processes at a level accessible to advanced students. The volume gives the reader a basic understanding of global warming and enhanced levels of harmful ultraviolet radiation caused by ozone depletion. It teaches the basic physics of absorption, scattering and emission processes in turbid media, such as the atmosphere and ocean, using simple semi-classical models. The radiative transfer equation, including multiple scattering, is formulated and solved for several prototype problems, using both simple approximate and accurate numerical methods. In addition, the reader has access to a powerful, state-of-the-art computational code for simulating radiative transfer processes in coupled atmosphere-water systems including snow and ice. This computational code can be regarded as a powerful educational aid, but also as a research tool that can be applied to solve a variety of research problems in environmental sciences.

Knut Stamnes is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and Director of the Light and Life Laboratory at Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey. His research interests include radiative transfer, ocean optics and remote sensing and he has published over 200 papers and co-authored two textbooks: this one and Radiative Transfer in Coupled Environmental Systems (2015). He is a fellow of the Optical Society (OSA), a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.

Gary E. Thomas is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Science and Senior Research Associate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research interests are in the remote sensing of Earth and planetary atmospheres. He has published over 150 papers in various fields of planetary and atmospheric science. He taught the graduate course Radiative Transfer at the University of Colorado over a period of thirty years.

Jakob J. Stamnes is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and Technology at Universitetet i Bergen, Norway and CEO of Balter Medical, Norway. His research interests include wave propagation, radiative transfer, ocean optics and remote sensing. He has published over 190 research papers. He is the author of Waves in Focal Regions (1986) and co-authored Radiative Transfer in Coupled Environmental Systems (2015). He is a fellow of the Optical Society (OSA), and a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.