SOLAR RADIATION AND

EARTH ENERGY BALANCE

 •Often called the solar resource, is a
general term for the electromagnetic
radiation emitted by the sun.

Solar •It drives the physical and biological cycles

in reaching the Earth.

Radiation
•The amount of solar radiation that reaches
any one spot on the Earth's surface varies
according to geographic location, time of
day, season, local landscape and local
weather.
 TERRESTRIAL INCOMING SOLAR
SOLAR RADIATION RADIATION

•It is the •The energy transmitted

electromagnetic by the sun is often
radiation which called short wave
originates from earth radiation because
and its atmosphere. approximately 90% of
•It is a longer wave the sun's energy is
which is totally infrared. emitted in shorter
wavelengths.
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
•The spectrum of the sun's solar radiation is close to that of a
black body with a temperature of about 5800K.

•Range of electromagnetic radiation types arranged by

wavelength or by wave frequency or both.

•The three relevant bands, or ranges, along the solar radiation

spectrum are ultraviolet, visible, and infrared.
 Ultraviolet Radiation

The term "Ultraviolet" refers to the fact that the radiation is at

higher frequency than violet light. Due to absorption by the
atmosphere very little reaches Earth's surface.

•Ultraviolet C or UVC range- spans a range of about 100 to

280 nm.
•Ultraviolet B or UVB range- spans 280 to 315 nm.
•Ultraviolet A or UVA range-spans 315 to 400 nm.
Visible Radiation
•Visible range or light spans 380 to 780 nm.

•Visible to the naked eye.

•Also the strongest output range of the sun's

total irradiance spectrum.

•Has wavelengths longer than infrared but

shorter than ultraviolet radiation.
Infrared Radiation
•It comprises an important part of the
electromagnetic radiation that reaches the
Earth.

-Infrared A: 700-1,400 nm
-Infrared B: 1,400-3,000 nm
-Infrared C: 3,000 nm-1 mm

*We cannot see it but we can feel it as heat.

Most of the solar
radiation that reaches
the earth are made up
of visible and infrared
lights, only a small
amount of ultraviolet
reaches the surface
because it is absorbed
by ozone in the
stratosphere before it
can reach the earth's
surface.
 Solar Irradiance
•It is the power per unit area received from the Sun in the form
of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the
measuring instrument.

• Irradiance on the Earth's surface additionally depends on the

tilt of the measuring surface, the height of the sun above the
horizon, and atmospheric conditions.

•Measured in Watts per square meter(W/m²).

 INSTRUMENTS USED TO MEASURE SOLAR
RADIATION:
Pyrheliometer is used to Pyranometer is used to measure
measure direct beam total hemispherical radiation -
radiation at normal beam plus diffuse - on a horizontal
incidence. surface.
Solar Radiation on Earth's Surface
•This incoming solar radiation may be scattered, reflected, or absorbed.
•Scattering of solar radiation occurs when the radiation strikes very
small objects in Earth's atmosphere, such as air molecules, tiny water
droplets, ice crystals, or aerosols (tiny airborne particles), which disperse
the solar radiation in all directions.
•Reflection of solar radiation occurs when the radiation is sent directly
backward from a surface. The fraction (or percentage) of radiation
reflected back is known as albedo.
Albedo-usually applied to reflectivity of an object to visible
radiation.
•Absorption of radiation involves the conversion of electromagnetic
radiation into heat energy.
Types of Solar Irradiance

1.)Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) is a measure of the solar power over

all wavelengths per unit area incident on the Earth's upper
atmosphere.
2.) Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), or beam radiation, is measured at
the surface of the Earth at a given location with a surface element
perpendicular to the Sun.
3.)Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI), or Diffuse Sky Radiation is
the radiation at the Earth's surface from light scattered by the
atmosphere.
4.)Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) is the total irradiance from the
sun on a horizontal surface on Earth.
GHI= DHI + DNI
"About 30% of solar energy that arrives at the
top of the atmosphere is reflected back to
space by clouds, atmospheric particles or
bright ground surfaces like sea icea and snow.
About 23% of incoming energy is absorbed in
the atmosphere by water vapor, dust, ozone
and 48% passes through the atmosphere and
is absorbed by the surface. Thus, about 70%
of the total incoming energy is absorbed by
Earth's system."
-NASA
Solar Constant
•Measurements indicate that the Energy Flux(rate of
energy transfer through a unit area) received from the Sun
outside the Earth's atmosphere is essentially constant.

•Solar Constant (Isc): The rate at which energy is

received from the sun on a unit area perpendicular to the
rays of the sun.(~1.496×10^8 km).
Isc= 1367 W/m²
•The solar constant includes all types of solar radiation, not
just the visible light.
Variation in Extraterrestrial Flux

Due to the variation in Earth-Sun distance

throughout the year, the Extraterrestrial Flux
varies, which can be calculated from the equation:

Isc'= Isc[1+0.033cos(360n/365)]

where n=the number of day of the year

Correlation Between Temperature and Radiation

•All objects actually emit radiation if their

temperature is greater than absolute zero. Absolute
zero is equal to zero Kelvin, which is equal to -
273°C or -460°F.

•Both the sun and Earth's surface behave as

blackbodies—an object that absorbs and emits all
possible radiation at 100 percent efficiency.
WIEN'S LAW Wilhelm Wien
discovered the law.

Wien's law, explains

the relationship
between the object's
temperature and the
wavelength it emits.
λm=w/T
Hotter objects emit
radiation at shorter
wavelength.
STEFAN-BOLTZMANN LAW

The Stefan-Boltzmann
law, a fundamental law
of physics, explains the
relationship between an
object's temperature
and the amount of
radiation that it emits.
E = σT⁴
Earth's Energy Earth's Energy balance describes how the
incoming energy from the sun is used and

Balance
returned to space. If incoming and
outgoing energy are in balance, the earth's
temperature remains constant.
Earth's Energy
Budget
Earth's energy budget refers to the tracking of
how much energy is flowing into and out of the
Earth's climate, where the energy is going, and
if the energy coming in balances with the
energy going out.
For the energy budget to balance, all that
needs to occur is:
Energyin=Energyout
Energies at the
atmosphere:
Net incoming radiation=
net outgoing radiation
341.3-(101.9+238.5)=
0.9W/m²

Energy at the
atmosphere is
imbalanced.
Energies at the
surface:
Net incoming radiation=
net outgoing radiation
(333+161)-
(17+80+396)= 1 W/m²

Energy at the surface is

imbalanced.
Earth's Energy Imbalance

The incoming energy to the Earth and the

outgoing energy from the Earth do not actually
balance. This imbalance is partially caused by
the incoming energy from the Sun—which
varies with the seasons and changes in the
composition of the Earth's atmosphere.