What are TOA and surface fluxes?
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:24 pm America/New_York
On Nov 17, 2015
On Nov 17, 2015
The-Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) layers are where the first interaction occurs as the radiation from the Sun reaches Earth and then the various atmospheric layers containing gases, clouds, aerosols, and/or other constituents before finally reaching the Surface. Solar radiation is scattered and/or absorbed in each of these material layers while the atmospheric and surface constituents emit their own share of radiation. Shortwave (SW) and Longwave (LW) are the two primary spectral parts the energetics can be split into and may be further divided into finer spectral intervals depending on the specifics of the physical processes under investigation.