Carbon dioxide interaction with infrared radiation

The most abundant carbon-containing compound in the stratosphere and mesosphere is carbon dioxide (CO2). By interacting with infrared radiation, this gas plays an important role in the thermal budget of the atmosphere, and the 30% increase in its concentration resulting mainly from fossil fuel burning has provided a significant forcing to the climate system of about 1.5 Wm 2 (IPCC, 2001). Carbon dioxide does not play any substantial role in the chemistry of the atmosphere except in the lower thermosphere, where its photolysis is an important source of carbon monoxide (CO). This latter gas, which is also released at the Earth s surface by incomplete combustion (pollution) and is partially transported to the stratosphere, is converted to CO2 by reaction with the hydroxyl radical (OH). 

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