PRELIMINARY STUDY OF PLANETARY-SCALE OUTGOING LONG-WAVE RADIATION AS DERIVED FROM TIROS II MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

Daily composite Northern Hemisphere charts of outgoing long-wave radiation were derived from TIROS II measurements for about 25 days in late November and December 1960. Although data coverage was incomplete and variable each day, both latitudinal and overall daily averages of long-wave radiation were obtained. Large-scale temporal variations in the long-wave radiation are observed and are found to be generally related to temporal variations in kinetic and available potential energy over the Northern Hemisphere. Examination of the radiation latitudinally for various stages of an energy cycle that occurred at this time shows that the outgoing radiation, particularly at lower latitudes, decreased as westerly flow increased at lower latitudes. An average latitudinal profile of the TIROS long-wave data for all days studied shows rather good agreement with previous estimates made by investigators of the atmospheric heat budget.