The Parameterization of Radiation for Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the various methods used to compute both the fluxes and the rate of heating and/or cooling due to atmospheric radiation for use in numerical models of atmospheric circulation. The paper does not follow, step by step, the solution to the relevant radiative transfer problem but rather concentrates on providing the reader with the physical basis underlying the various methods. The paper discusses, separately, the various parameterizations for the absorptions by water vapor, carbon dioxide and ozone and for the scattering and absorption associated with cloud (and hazes) and also provides some indication of their accuracy.