The Effects of Scattering and Ground Reflection on the Solar Energy Absorbed by Ozone in a Rayleigh Atmosphere

Abstract

The effects of Rayleigh scattering and Lambert ground reflection on the solar energy absorbed by ozone in the earth's molecular atmosphere are evaluated on the basis of a complete solution of the transfer equation. The results show that these processes increase the following over that for a purely-absorbing atmosphere: 1) the total solar energy absorbed by ozone in a unit atmospheric column, 2) the energy absorbed per unit mass of air at all levels (except below 100 mb at low sun), and 3) the heating rates due to the absorption of solar energy by ozone. In each case, the magnitude of the increase can vary considerably depending on the solar zenith angle and the reflectivity of the underlying surface.