The radiative budget for polluted layers in the stratosphere.
A simple, yet physically realistic, six-step nongray radiative model of the atmosphere is applied to a parametric study aimed at a preliminary assessment of the radiative effects of a water-vapor and a carbon-dioxide layer injected into the lower stratosphere by the exhaust gases of supersonic (SST) and hypersonic (HST) transport aircraft. The fundamental differences between the effects of a pure water-vapor layer and a pure carbon dioxide layer are demonstrated. It is shown that with a water-vapor layer the earth's surface temperature will decrease and, for conditions appropriate for the SST, will change by a few hundredths of a degree. Within the layer, the temperature will increase on the order of one degree. For the HST, the radiative effects are shown to be roughly ten times greater than for the SST.