GEOG 102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Intertropical Convergence Zone, Dowsing, September Equinox
Document Summary
99. 9% our energy in earth"s atmosphere comes from the sun. Very little energy in our atmosphere comes from the earth. The energy that does come from earth is geothermal: Irradiance: climatic and global variations in energy are ultimately caused by the amount of solar radiation received at the surface. Solar constant: average solar radiation received on a surface at the top of the atmosphere at mean (average) distance from the sun. Most of this energy comes at shorter wavelengths of energy, shorter than. Micrometer = 1 millionth of a meter. The total amount of solar radiation received at a place depends on the duration and intensity of the insolation and on cloud cover. What controls duration and intensity: the rotation of earth on its axis & the constant tilt of the earth"s axis as it orbits the sun annually control the amount of radiation received. Controls of solar insolation received at surface.
