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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Transmission and scattering of radiation
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry
  • Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Radiative processes

Abstract

Atmospheric water vapor complexes and the continuum

John S. Daniel

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Aeronomy Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Susan Solomon

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Aeronomy Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Henrik G. Kjaergaard

Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Daniel P. Schofield

Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Estimates of absorption optical depths for the bound complexes H2O-H2O and the sum of H2O-N2, H2O-O2, and H2O-Ar at visible and near-infrared wavelengths are compared to the same quantities calculated from a frequently used water continuum parameterization (MT_CKD) and from a theoretical far wing water vapor lineshape theory. The temperature dependences of some of these optical depths are also compared. The comparisons suggest qualitatively that water complexes may contribute to the continuum at these wavelengths, and show that the temperature dependence of the continuum might provide insight into the role of the complexes in the atmosphere. Because of the dearth of laboratory measurements of the continuum at these wavelengths, and because the current estimates for the equilibrium constants of these water vapor complexes remain highly uncertain, more observations are needed before the importance of water complexes can be accurately quantified.

Received 23 October 2003; accepted 20 February 2004; published 24 March 2004.

Citation: Daniel, J. S., S. Solomon, H. G. Kjaergaard, and D. P. Schofield (2004), Atmospheric water vapor complexes and the continuum, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L06118, doi:10.1029/2003GL018914.

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