This book develops both spectroscopy and radiative transfer for planetary atmospheric composition in a rigorous and quantitative sense for students of atmospheric and/or planetary science. Spectroscopic field measurements including satellite remote sensing have advanced rapidly in recent years, and are being increasingly applied to provide information about planetary atmospheres. Examples include systematic observation of the atmospheric constituents that affect weather, climate, biogeochemical cycles, air quality on Earth, as well as the physics and evolution of planetary atmospheres in our solar system and beyond. Understanding atmospheric spectroscopy and radiative transfer is important throughout the disciplines of atmospheric science and planetary atmospheres to understand principles of remote sensing of atmospheric composition and the effects of atmospheric composition on climate. Atmospheric scientists need an understanding of the details, strength and weaknesses of the spectroscopic measurement sources. Those in remote sensing require an understanding of the information content of the measured spectra that are needed for the design of retrieval algorithms and for developing new instrumentation.
