For example, ice and snow will reflect much more radiation than plants. The energy absorbed by the Earth's surface is radiated back into the atmosphere as heat, or infrared radiation. This heat is absorbed by water vapor and carbon dioxide in the air. This is how the troposphere is heated. The amount of heating of the atmosphere depends on the nature of the surface that is heating the air above it.
Land is a better absorber of radiation than water.
During the day land warms up more quickly than water. At night it loses heat more quickly than water. During the daytime mountainsides warm up more quickly than the valley floor. At night the mountain slopes cool more quickly. The Earth's Atmosphere 1.