Solar radiation variation

Cubasch, U., Voss, R., Hegerl, G. C., Waszkewitz, J., and Crowley, T. J. (1997). Simulatkrn of the influence of solar radiation variations on the global climate with an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. Climate Dynamics 13, 757-767. 

Budyko MI (1969) The effect of solar radiation variations on the climate of the Earth. Tellus 5 611-619. 

Weertman J (1976) Milankovitch solar radiation variations and ice age ice sheet sizes. Nature 261 17-20. 

The distribution of solar radiation, including surface radiation exchange, can account for solar heat source variations in time and local space. 

A solar pond does not concentrate solar radiation, hut collects solar energy in the pond s water by absorbing both the direct and diffuse components of sunlight. Solar ponds contain salt in high concentrations near the bottom, with decreasing concentrations closer to the surface. This variation in concentration, known as a salt-density gradient, suppresses the natural tendency of hot water to rise, thus... 

Much of the variation in these time series for the past 700 kyr can be described by a combination of a 100 kyr cycle plus additional cycles with periods of 20 and 40 kyr. This result immediately suggests that the ice-age cycles are caused by variations in the amount and seasonality of solar radiation reaching the Earth (insolation), because the 20, 40, and 100 kyr periods of climate history match the periods of cyclic variations in Earth s orbit and axial tilt, line hypothesis that these factors control climate was proposed by Milutin Milankovitch in the early part of the 20th century and is widely known as "Milankovitch Theory." It is now generally accepted that the Milankovitch variations are the root cause of the important 20 and 40 kyr climate cycles. The 100 kyr cycle, however, proves to be a puzzle. The magnitude of the insolation variation at this periodicity is relatively trivial, but the 100 kyr cycle dominates the climate history of the last 700 kyr. Further,... 

If basic calculations such as those presented are to be conducted, it is important to collect enough weather parameters to calculate reference evapotranspiration ETf). An on-site weather station should be considered a basic requirement minimum sensor requirements to calculate a Penman equation would include solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity or actual vapor pressure, and air temperature. An on-site rain gauge is essential but it is also a good idea to have a rain gauge on the weather station even if it is not directly on-site. The most accurate variations of the Penman equation calculate Tq on an hourly basis. However, Penman routines using daily summaries are typically satisfactory for the purpose of calculating soil-water recharge. 

Wood is an anisotropic material that undergoes uneven dimensional changes and, under extreme variations of environmental conditions, becomes distorted and warped (see Chapter 10). Exposed to the atmosphere, wood is also susceptible to the mechanical forces of wind and rain, and the effects of solar radiation the latter, in particular, causes discoloration initially, and then photochemical degradation, which often results in the wood s total decomposition. Wood is also prone to consumption by bacteria, fungi, insects, and rodent animals (Unger et al. 2001). 

The rainfall regime in arid areas is characterized by low, irregular and unpredictable precipitation, often concentrated in a few rainstorms, creating humid conditions in the soil for a short period and over a limited area. In many arid areas, several years may elapse between successive rainfalls. The moisture supplied to the soil from rain is offset by evaporation, that is related to air temperature, air humidity and intensity of solar radiation. Because of the irregular rainfall distribution, mean precipitation values have little meaning, if not also the range of variation is indicated. 

These reactions emphasize the importance of solar radiation in NO/NO2 catalytic destruction cycle of ozone. One can immediately see that to provide any reliable observational basis for importance of NO/NO2 in ozone balance, we must have not only NO/NO2 concentration but also its diurnal variation which provides proper check on the time constants for the reactions described in Eqs. (7)-(9). 

A final variation involves the direction at which the Earth s axis points. Today, the axis points at the star known as Polaris, the North Star. But very slowly over time, the orientation of the axis changes, pointing in a slightly different direction. After about 12,000 years, the axis will be pointing toward the star known as Vega, which will then become the new "North Star." This 23,000-year variation is known as axial precession, or precession of the equinoxes, and because of it Earth s surface receives different amounts of solar radiation over the 23,000-year period. 

In short, the direct effects of aerosol particles in terms of backscattering solar radiation out to space and hence leading to cooling are reasonably well understood qualitatively and provided the aerosol composition, concentrations, and size distribution are known, their contribution can be treated quantitatively as well. However, major uncertainties exist in our knowledge of the physical and chemical properties, as well as the geographical and temporal variations, of aerosol particles and it is these uncertainties that primarily limit the ability to accurately quantify the direct effects at present. 

It has been known for about 50 years4 that the annual variations in ozone do not correspond to these of the solar radiation depending on the latitude and the season. The behavior of ozone is characterized by a maximum in spring and a minimum in autumn also there is more ozone at high than at low latitudes. This behavior shows that the chemical reactions in question are slow, in comparison with transport phenomena, in the lower stratosphere below 25 km. 

Figure 4. Variation with solar radiation of average daily distillate production of deep-basin still...

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