Surface Albedo and Radiative Balance of the Climate System
Classified in Physics
Written at on English with a size of 5.44 KB.
Surface Albedo and the Climate System
Albedo
Albedo is the ability of different surface types to reflect solar energy back into the atmosphere.
Radiation Balance
Radiation balance describes the energy flow converging in an area.
Key Threads:
- K: Solar radiation flux = S + D + K
- L: Terrestrial radiation flux = L↑ + L↓
- D: Sensible heat flux in the atmosphere
- H: Sensible heat flux in the soil
- C: Latent heat flux
Surface Radiative Balance
If Ts = 288 K (-15°C)
En = σT4 = 0.817 x 10-10 Ly min-1 K-4 (288 K)4
En = 0.562 Ly min-1 = 290 Kcal cm-2 yr-1
Since S = 1.94 Ly min-1, the total energy intercepting the surface is:
SπR2
The total energy per unit area incident (Q0) corresponding to 100% is:
Q0 = SπR2 / 4πR2 = S / 4
Q0 = 0.485 Ly min-1 = 250 Kcal cm-2 yr-1