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The effect of the differences in near-infrared water vapour continuum models on the absorption of solar radiation

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Abstract

There are currently significant disagreements in the strength of the water vapour continuum in the near-infrared region. To understand the effects of these disagreements on the absorption of solar radiation, line-by-line radiative transfer calculations were performed from 2000 to 10,000 cm−1 (1–5 μm) for three standard atmospheres; tropical, mid-latitude summer and sub-arctic winter atmospheres. These calculations were carried out at a solar zenith angle of 60° using line parameters from HITRAN (HIgh-resolution TRANsmission). Three currently available water vapour continuum models were selected for this study; versions 2.5 and 3.2 of the semi-empirical MT_CKD (Mlawer-Tobin-Clough-Kneizys-Davies) model and the laboratory-measured CAVIAR (Continuum Absorption at Visible and Infrared Wavelengths and its Atmospheric Relevance) model. The differences between the contributions of both MT_CKD models to near-infrared absorption and heating are modest for all three atmospheres. The additional absorption due the CAVIAR model more than doubles those due to both MT_CKD models for the tropical and mid-latitude summer atmospheres. For both atmospheres, the extra heating of the CAVIAR model is up to a factor of 5 more than those of the MT_CKD models. For the sub-arctic winter atmosphere, the differences between the extra absorption and heating of the CAVIAR and those of both MT_CKD models are relatively less. Thus, an update of the MT_CKD model from version 2.5 to 3.2 has a relatively small impact on near-infrared spectrally integrated absorbed solar fluxes and heating rates. But their contributions to the calculations of these quantities differ significantly from that of the much stronger CAVIAR model.

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Acknowledgement

We wish to thank Igor V. Ptashnik for configuring the line-by-line radiative transfer model used for this work. We thank the reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Buea, PO Box 63, Buea, SW Region, Cameroon

    Kaah P. Menang

  2. Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

    Imoleayo E. Gbode & Oluwafemi E. Adeyeri

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  1. Kaah P. Menang
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  2. Imoleayo E. Gbode
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  3. Oluwafemi E. Adeyeri
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Correspondence to Kaah P. Menang.

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Menang, K.P., Gbode, I.E. & Adeyeri, O.E. The effect of the differences in near-infrared water vapour continuum models on the absorption of solar radiation. Meteorol Atmos Phys 133, 781–788 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-021-00781-6

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