Abstract
An analytic expression for the specific heating rate due to solar absorption by nitrogen dioxide is derived by approximating the solar insolation and absorption cross section by simple functions of wavelength. The analytic expression agrees with a detailed calculation to within ±2 × 10−22 W throughout the range of NO2 column densities investigated (up to 1020 cm−2). The error is within ±0.3% for NO2 column densities less than 2 × 1017 cm−2. The error is generally within ±5% for the larger column densities which rarely, if ever, occur in the atmosphere.
