Emitted Radiation by the earth/atmosphere system- Blackbody Radiation Laws

Recall that the earth and sun emit radiation approximately as blackbodies:

• perfect emitter/absorber of radiation at all wavelengths
• amount of radiation at a given wavelength is governed by Planks law:

where E* is the irradiance in W m^-2

• The total amount of radiation emitted by an object is given by the Stefan Boltzman law:

• Finally, the wavelength at which the largest magnitudes of radiation are being emitted is given by Wiens Law:

• Note the temperature dependence on the wavelength of max emission