Horizontal Variation of infrared Cooling and the Generation of Eddy Available Potential Energy

Abstract

According to radiometersonde observations, the net vertical flux divergence of infrared radiation is positively correlated with the outward flux at the top of the atmosphere. Measurements of the latter quantity from the Explorer VII satellite are shown to he correlated with tropospheric temperature, such that warm air on the average is cooled less than cold air at the same latitude by infrared radiation. Calculations of the generation of eddy available potential energy by this process are presented and shown to be significant.