Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-of-atmospheres-and-oceans-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2018/2/b/solution
Past exam of the physics of atmospheres and oceans course of the University of Oxford 2018 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The incident stellar power is intercepted over a disk and distributed over the spherical surface. With a black shortwave surface, no clouds and no shortwave atmospheric absorption, the global mean absorbed flux is . Define .
To relate a radiating-level temperature to the ground, assume the intervening well-mixed gas follows a dry adiabat with constant :Emission from balances absorbed sunlight when . HenceThe final form uses the optically thick result in part (a). Since , the surface is warmer than the effective emission temperature. Efficient horizontal redistribution alone does not mathematically fix the vertical lapse rate: the adiabatic/convective assumption is needed to obtain the requested dependence on . A different imposed vertical profile would give a different relation.
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