Radiation Balance

of the atmosphere and underlying surface, the net amount of radiant energy that is absorbed and radiated by the atmosphere and underlying surface. For the atmosphere, the incoming radiation is the amount absorbed of the incident and scattered solar radiation and the long-wave (infrared) radiation from the earth; the outgoing radiation is the long-wave emission from the atmosphere, which causes a sink of heat, toward both the earth’s surface (back radiation) and outer space.

For the underlying surface, the incoming radiation is the amount absorbed of the incident and scattered solar radiation and the atmospheric back radiation; the outgoing amount is the heat lost from the underlying surface through thermal radiation. Radiation balance is itself a component of the heat balance of the atmosphere and underlying surface.