GEOG 1104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Solar Irradiance, Daytime, Angle
12 Feb 2018
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Geog 1104 lecture 6 atmosphere, the sun. The sun warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for life on earth. (nasa) The sun, our energy making star, is composed of 76% hydrogen (h) and 22% helium (he) Question: how does it make energy: the sun is a big nuclear reactor converts h to he by nuclear fusion and gives off. 3 possible fates: scattering: by particles in atm wavelength is unchanged, reflection: by clouds, particles, and surfaces back to space as shortwaves, absorption: by gases and dust in the atm and at the surface causes warming. Scattering: some short waves are scattered by particles in the atmosphere. No effect on temperature: without an atm to produce scattering sky would be dark like on the moon, oblique angle at sunrise/sunset = long distance travel.
