Greenhouse effect from the point of view of radiative transfer

Abstract

Radiative power balance of a planet in the solar system is delineated. The terrestrial powers are transformed to average global flux in an effective atmospheric column (EAC) approximation, its components are delineated. The estimated and measured secular changes of the average global flux are compared to the fluxes derived from the Stefan-Boltzmann law using the observed global annual temperatures in the decades between 1880 and 2010. The conclusion of this procedure is that the radiative contribution of the greenhouse gas ${\rm CO}_2$ is some $21\pm 7$~\% to the observed global warming from the end of the XIXth century excluding the feedback mechanisms playing determining role in the climate system. Stationary radiative flux transfer is treated in an air column as a function of the column density of the absorbent. Upper and lower limit of radiative forcing is given by assuming true absorption and coherent scatter of the monochromatic radiation. An integral formula is given for the outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) as a function of column density of the components of greenhouse gases.