Solar & Terrestrial

Radiation

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Energy travel as waves and particles
Energy is the capacity to do work
E=MC2
Where E is energy, M is mass and C is the
speed of light (300,000km/sec)

Energy has electrical AND magnetic

properties
ALL object ABSORB and EMIT EM
radiation

EM Radiation
Described in terms of Wavelength or Frequency
Wavelength distance between successive
crests or troughs in km, m, mm, m
Frequency # wave crest/time (1sec) cycles/sec
or Hertz (Hz)
The longer the Wavelength () the lower the
frequency
Frequency is inversely proportional to , so the
higher the frequency the shorter the

There is a simple relationship between the wavelength (), frequency (),

and velocity (c). If you know any 2 of them then you can compute the 3rd
using

c=
or, velocity (c) equals wavelength () times frequency ().

EM Radiation

Travel through space

In a vacuum travel at the speed of light
Pass through liquids, solids, gases
EM radiation can be reflected, refracted when
crossing different mediums as well as absorbed
Solar radiation arrives on Earth primarily as
visible (0.4-0.7 m) and Ultra-violet and is
reflected and absorb and re-radiated to space as
visible and Infra-red (heat)

Radiation Laws
Perfect radiator- blackbody
Blackbody- at a constant temperature absorbs
ALL radiation that is incident on it and EMITS all
radiant energy it absorbs
All known objects emit and absorb all forms of
EM radiation
The of most intense radiation (max) emitted by
a blackbody is inversely proportional to absolute
T of the object
max=C/T where C is 2897 if is in m and T is in K,
where absolute zero is -273.15oC
This is a statement of WiensDisplacementLaw

WiensDisplacementLaw
Hot objects (stars) emit radiation that
peaks at relatively short wavelength
The blackbody temperature is 6000K
For the Sun it is about 0.5m

Cold objects (planets, like the Earthatmosphere system) emit peak radiation
at longer wavelengths
The blackbody temperature is 288K (15oC)
For the Earth it is about 10m

Stefen-Boltzmann Law
The total energy flux emitted by a blackbody
across all wavelengths (E) is proportional to the
fourth power of the absolute temperature (T 4) of
the object
E~T4
A small change in temperature results in a greater
change in radiational energy emitted
Since the sun radiates at a greater temperature than
the Earth the law predicts that the energy output per
square meter of the sun will be 190,000 times greater
than the earth

Input of Solar Radiation

Stellar nuclear synthesis
80%hydrogen
Hydrogen fusion alpha particle Helium
Internal temperature 20 million oC

Photosphere- Visible solar surface 6,000oC

Sunspots- cool areas of the suns surface
Chromosphere- outward area, ions of H+ He+
4,000-40,000 oC
Solar corona- highest level of solar atmosphere,
ionized gases, extending millions of kilometers
into space, where solar wind originates

Solar Altitude
Intensity of solar radiation varies with
latitude
Intensity of solar radiation varies with time
of day
Intensity of solar radiation varies with path
through atmosphere gases

TEMPERATE

TROPIC

POLAR

Earths Motions in Space and the

Seasons
Rotation on its axis every 24hrs (day)
Revolution around the sun every 365.2422 days
elliptical orbit (year)
Closest 3 January (perihelion) farthest 4 July
(aphelion), Earth receives 6.7% more radiation
at perihelion than aphelion
Earths tilt at 23.5o
Summer & Winter Solstice
Tropic of Cancer & Tropic of Capricorn

Equinoxes (March & September)

Solar Radiation & The Atmosphere

Solar radiation interacts with gases and aerosols
Scattering & reflection (albedo), absorption
(absorptivity) or transmissivity (amount that
reaches earths surface) of solar radiation must
equal 100%
In scattering a particle disperses solar radiation
in all directions
Scattering by molecules is wavelength
dependent and preferential scattering of blueviolet light by N2 and O2 is the reason for the
daytime sky
Water and ice scatter visible light equally at all
wavelengths so that clouds appear white

Albedo
Fraction of total radiation reflected by an
object (surface).
Varies according to:

Cloud cover.
Particles in air.
Angle of suns rays.
Types of surface.

Stratospheric Ozone
Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms (O 3).
Ozone is destroyed when it reacts with molecules containing
nitrogen, hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine. (CFCs)
Ozone protects life on Earth from the Suns ultraviolet (UV)
radiation.
Ozone screens all of the most energetic, UV-c, radiation, and
most of the UV-b radiation.
Ozone only screens about half of the UV-a radiation.
Excessive UV-b and UV-a radiation can cause sunburn and
can lead to skin cancer and eye damage.
In the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) near the Earths
surface, ozone is created by chemical reactions between air
pollutants from vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and other
emissions.
At ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to
people and plants.

The Ozone Layer

The depletion of the ozone (O 3) layer was first reported in 1985
by British scientists who said the amount of ozone had been
decreasing over Antarctica since the late 1970s
Depletion of the ozone layer over the poles is most severe in the
winter months
The greatest loss is over Antarctica because Antarctic winters are
colder than Arctic winters
The ozone hole grew to its largest recorded size in 2000,
expanding to an area roughly three times the size of the United
States
Satellites carrying total ozone mapping spectrometers (TOMS)
have been used to map the zone since 1978

Map of ozone over Antarctica (1997) in Dobson

units [0.01mm thickness of ozone at standard P
& T (0oC and 1 atm)]

Ozone Problem
Decreased levels of ozone in the atmosphere will allow
more ultraviolet radiation to reach the surface
A 50% decrease in ozone is estimated to cause a 350%
increase in ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface
Ultraviolet radiation is known to adversely affect growth and
reproduction in organisms and is thought to increase the
risk of skin cancer and cataracts
Research also indicates that increased ultraviolet light may
decrease rates of photosynthesis and growth in marine
plants, phytoplankton, by about 24% under the Antarctic
ozone hole

OZONE
Thanks to the UN Montreal Protocol
The production and consumption of entire
groups of harmful ozone-depleting
chemicals has been successfully phased
out in developed countries, and the same
process is now well under way in
developing countries.
Overall, almost ninety five per cent of all
ozone-depleting substances have been
phased out

After 20 years of
protecting the ozone layer
with a new generation of
chemicals, governments
are now having to confront
the fact that these ozonefriendly substitutes for
chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) also happen to be
greenhouse gases that
contribute to global
warming.

Intensity of solar radiation

The Earth receives solar radiation
unequally over its surface
The intensity per unit area of surface is
greatest at the equator
Intermediate in the middle latitudes
The lowest intensity is at the polar regions

Global Solar Radiation Budget

Reflected 31%
Absorbed by atmosphere 20%
Absorbed by Earths surface 49%
Earths climate is controlled by a Greenhouse
Effect
Gases in the atmosphere control this effect
H2Ovapor, CO2, O3, CH4, N2O
The percent of IR radiation absorbed varies with
An Atmospheric Window is a range of over which
little or no radiation is absorbed
A visible window extends 0.3-0.9m and major IR 813 m, the peak IR emission of the planet is at 10m

Absorptivity is very low or near zero in atmospheric window

Greenhouse Gases
CO2 is stored in four reservoirs: three that are active and
one inactive reservoir including

the atmosphere,
the oceans,
the terrestrial system
Earths crust

Most CO2 is stored in the oceans while the smallest

amount is found in the atmosphere.
Short-wavelength incoming radiation is not blocked by
CO2, but re-radiated long-wavelength energy is, and this
warms the atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect

Greenhouse Gases
Changing atmospheric chemistry can be monitored for past years by
analyzing bubbles trapped in polar ice.
It can be demonstrated that following the Industrial Revolution, the
concentration of CO2 has risen dramatically and continues to rise at
an increasing rate.
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 280
ppm to 380 ppm since 1850
Currently, the average increase in concentration is about 1.4 ppm
per year

Past Climate in Ice

Polar ice sheets (Greenland and Antarctica)
Ice cores preserve a detail make up of the ocean and
atmosphere
Trapped bubbles contain gases from the past
GRIP (Greenland Ice Core Project) drilled a core 3029m a
record of more than 200,000 yrs
Identify volcanic events, lead production, large scale pollution
Pre and post industrial revolution levels of sulfate (3X) and
nitrate (2X)
Russian core at Vostok (3623m ~ 450,000 yrs)
CO2 increased 140K and decreased 100K; 10K increase by 40%

Ice Core

Ice
Core

CO2
Scientists have estimated that the greenhouse
effect may produce a global warming of 24C
over the next hundred years.
This could melt high latitude ice and raise sea level
by as much as 1 m by the year 2100.

Careful measurements of short term increases

in global temperatures have shown a twenty
year warming period which began in 1920 and
another period of warming that began in 1977
and continued through the 1980s

CO2
There is considerable debate over the
actual cause or causes of the observed
global warming and different
mechanisms have been proposed to
explain it including:
increasing levels of CO2,
variations in sun spot cycles, and
changing concentrations of dust particles in the air

CO2
Some natural processes actually lead to global cooling. Massive
volcanic eruptions can release enough ash to the air to block incoming
solar radiation and cool the planet for a period of time
The use of fossil fuels and the burning of tropical forests produces
about 7 billion tons of CO2 annually.
Roughly 3 billion tons are stored in the atmosphere, another 2 billion
tons enters the oceans and ocean sediments
At least 1 billion tons are taken up by plants in the re-growth of logged
forests

FUTURE
Sharp reduction in coal & oil consumption
Greater reliance Non fossil fuel energy
resources
Higher energy efficiencies
Halt deforestation

Monitoring Radiation
Pyranometer measures solar radiation
striking horizontal surface
Transmits total (direct plus diffuse) short
wave (< 3.0m) radiation
Black and white surfaces (differences in
absorptivity and albedo) mean a different
temperature response (W/m 2)
Infrared Radiometer measures IR emitted
by objects

Solar Power
Solar power is a clean, reliable form of
renewable energy generated by converting
energy from the sun's radiation into electricity
Solar cells, also referred to as photovoltaic (PV)
cells are grouped and connected together in a
single frame called a panel or module
These cells are comprised of special semiconductive materials, which is most often a
piece of silicon positioned under a layer of thin
glass

Theworld'slargestsolarelectricpowerplant
TheGutErlaseeSolarPark,a12-megawattfacility
LocatedneartheBavariantownofArnstein,Germany

Solar Power
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): systems are
based on a series of mirrors or reflectors that
focus the sunlight into a central photo receptor
These systems tend to be very large and
produce hundreds of megawatts of power.
Australia will invest $320 million to construct the
worlds largest solar power plant
The plant, which will be built in Victoria state, will
have a capacity of 154 megawatts and will be
built over the next several years, with a
completion date set for 2013

Australia