GEOG 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Shortwave Radiation, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Waste Heat
21 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
It"s not the distance of the earth that is important but its angle towards the sun. The same amount of light can be distributed differently depending on the angle (direct/indirect rays) (distribution of the light on the area) Solar radiation can be absorbed (by water vapor, dust, clouds and ground) or reflected (by clouds and surface) Longwave radiation: some longwave radiation emitted from earth"s surface transmitted into space, some longwave radiation emitted from earth"s surface absorbed by atmosphere. Longwave radiation emitted from atmosphere in all directions (some goes back to the surface): some longwave radiation emitted from earth"s surface absorbed by clouds. Longwave radiation emitted from clouds in all directions (some goes back to the surface) Q* is the net value of all the radiation components. It can be negative (energy loss) or positive (energy gain). Net radiation is used to do work in the earth system.
