Each time radiation passes through the atmosphere it is attenuated to some extent. We refer to this attenuation with the term 'atmosphere transmittance'. The typical atmospheric transmittance between wavelengths of 250 nm and 2500 nm, i.e. in the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared and short-wave-infrared regions of the spectrum is dominated bywater vapour, although methane, carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen are also responsible for a few absorption lines. The behaviour in the visible region is dominated by molecular Rayleigh scattering. At the short-wavelength end of the spectrum, in the ultraviolet, absorption by ozone becomes very significant. Above 2500 nm up to the upper limit (13500 nm) of the optical electromagnetic spectrum useful for Remote Sensing, the atmosphere transmittance is mainly affected by triatomic molecules (H20, CO2 and O3). However, the atmospheric effects (transmittance) is strongly depending on the electromagntic wavelength. Remote Sensing exploits the region of relative atmospheric transparency called atmospheric windows.
Describe atmospheric transmittance in the optical spectral range
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