cloud absorption

From Glossary of Meteorology
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation within a cloud.

With some exceptions, clouds typically absorb ≈10% of the (broadband) shortwave radiation and ≈95% of the longwave radiation incident on their boundaries. Thin clouds, notably thin cirrus, may absorb considerably less. The dominant absorber tends to be the water droplets or ice crystals making up the cloud, with water vapor playing a matching role only for shortwave absorption by upper tropospheric clouds.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact [email protected]. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.