TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE OF NONGRAY PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES

To reduce by several orders of magnitude the number of frequency points needed in calculating net fluxes for molecular atmospheres, transmission average opacities are introduced. A power-law representation of these broad-band opacities is suggested for paths at constant pressure and temperature and generalized to nonhomogeneous paths. These broad-band opacities fail to obey the rules of superposition and as a result there is a greater tendency toward convective instability. Approximate formulas are developed for the temperature gradient near the bottom of a cloud layer and at large depths within an atmosphere. Finally, equations are presented to obtain the distribution of solar energy deposition within a planetary atmosphere, which exhibits scattering and absorption by gas molecules, cloud aerosols, and the ground. Such information is needed to find the amount of net thermal flux at any level of the atmosphere. © 1969.