Lecture 5 Solar Radiation Part 1 Principles Notes PDF

Biometeorology, ESPM 129
Lecture 5, Solar Radiation, Part 1, Principles

Instructor: Dennis Baldocchi
Professor of Biometeorology
Ecosystem Science Division
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
345 Hilgard Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
September 10, 2012
This set of Lectures will discuss
A. Solar Radiation
1. Solar Constant
2. Spectral Composition of Sunlight
a. Plancks Law
b. Wiens Law
c. absorption, reflection and transmission
d. uv,PAR, NIR, IR
L5.1 Introduction
The sun is the source of energy that drives the cycle of life and death on earth. It is also
the energy source that gives us warmth and evaporates water and melts snow. Obviously,
no course on biometeorology could proceed without a thorough discussion of solar
radiation.
The sun is our nearest star. It is about 150,000,000 km away from the Earth. Due to its
immense, but finite size, it has an angular diameter of 0.5 degree (32 minutes), as viewed
from Earth. The Sun burns continuously via thermonuclear reactions (fusion). Inside the
sun, radiative processes transfer this energy from 0.3 to 0.7 radii. Convection transfers
solar energy to its exterior surface. Despite the extremely high temperatures needed at
the core of the sun, to sustain its thermonuclear reactions, the sun has a black body
temperature of 5770 K. Consequently, we receive a relatively constant flux density of
energy, defined as the Solar Constant. Its mean value is 1366 W m-2 +/- 31.
One Watt is a Joule per second. A Joule is a common unit of energy. It equivalent to
the amount of work done. Work is equal to force (mass (kg) times acceleration (m s-2)
applied over a distance (m)). In sum a Joule is defined as a Newton-meter and can be
expressed in terms of kg m2 s-2.

Table 1 Solar Properties (Lean, 1997) the sun course (http://www-solar.dcs.standrews.ac.uk/~alan/sun_course/solar.html)
Property
Value
Age
Magnitude
Mass
Radius
Mean Distance from Earth (1 AU)
Surface Gravity
Effective Temperature
1 arc second
Luminosity
Solar constant, viewed from Earth
4.5 109 years

4.8
1.99 1030 kg
696,000 km
1.50 1011 m (8 light minutes)
274 m s-2
5785 K
726 km
3.86 1026 W
1366+/- 3 W m-2
The sun emits a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic Radiation

consists of discrete packets of photons. Radiation is an electromagnetic mechanism that
allows energy to be transported, at the speed of light, through regions of space devoid of
matter. Radiation is the 3rd manner by which energy is transferred: convection and
conduction being the other means. Radiant energy transfer is not dependent upon
contact between the source and sink, as are conduction and convection. Consequently,
radiative transfer is much different for the other forms of mass, heat and momentum
transfer, that we deal with and are proportional to driving gradients. Electromagnetic
radiation moves at the speed of light, c, 2.998 108 m s-1, in a vacuum, with wave-like
motion. The speed of light is proportional to the product of the wavelength of the
radiation () and the frequency at which it oscillates (), c .
Radiation has origins in the absorption and release of energy by electrons. Molecules
possess energy in the form of kinetic energy and electrostatic potential energy due to the
orbiting of electrons around the nucleus. Molecules also possess rotational and
vibrational energy. According to quantum mechanics theory, unique electron
configurations occur around each nucleus. The energy level is due to the orbit, and the
vibration and rotation of the electrons. A molecule will transfer to a higher energy level
by absorbing electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is emitted when
electrons drop an energy level. The radiation energy emitted is in discrete packets, called
photons. A spectrum of radiation is emitted because the excitation of electrons differs
when they are associated with rotational, vibration and electronic states of the molecules
and atoms.
L5.2 Solar Radiation and Its Spectrum

The Sun emits a nearly continuous spectrum of energy, ranging from very short wave and
high energy packets of quanta, to low energy and long wave lengths. Table 7.1 lists the
various wave bands that are intercepted by Earth and their sources.
Figure 1 Electromagnetic spectrum of sunlight above and below the atmosphere.

www.Globalwarmingart.org
(Web page for radiation calculations

http://arm.mrcsb.com/sbdart/)
Table 2 Various spectral wavebands have different sources of origin
Name
Radio waves
Far infrared
Near infrared
Visible
Ultraviolet
Xrays
Gamma rays
waveband
Mm to km
2.7 to 100 micron
0.7-2.7 micron
0.4 to 0.7 micron
Sub micron
Angstroms
Mechanism
Electrical conductor carrying alternating energy
Molecular rotation
Molecular vibration
Displacement of outer electrons of an atom
Displacement of outer electrons of an atom
Displacement of inner electrons of an atom
Displacement of nucleons in an atomic nucleus

On earth, there are 4 wavebands of electromagnetic radiation that are of particular
interest. These are the ultraviolet, photosynthetically active, near infrared and
infrared bands (Ross, 1980)
1) Ultraviolet (0.29 to 0.38 m).
This band possess high energy. It can damage molecular bonds. Its presences leads to
the photochemical formation of ozone in the troposphere. It has a moderate impact on
photomorphogenesis. Its flux density is relatively low since most ozone is absorbed in
the stratosphere. Therefore, about zero to 4% of incoming solar radiation is in this band.
2) Photosynthetic Active band (PAR), also known as photosynthetic photon flux density
(PPFD) (0.38 to 0.71 m)
This spectral band is the visible band. It contains visible energy across the primary colors
of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. It provides the energy for photosynthesis.
Between 21 and 46 per cent of solar radiation is in this band.
Table 3 color and waveband, nm
Color
violet
Blue
Cyan
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
Waveband
400-450
450-500
500-550
550-580
580-600
600-650
650-700
3) Near Infrared band (NIR) (0.71 to 4.0 m). This wave band is not visible, but
contributes to the heat budget of organisms.
4) Long wave or terrestrial radiation (3.0 to 100 m). This is the radiation emitted by
bodies on earth. Its flux density is a function of the surfaces temperature and
emissitivity. Any body warmer that 0 K emits radiation.
Table 4 Distribution of Solar energy by Waveband (Monteith and Unsworth)
Waveband
0-300
300-400, ultra-violet
400-700, visible/PAR
700-1500, near
infrared
Energy %
1.2
7.8
39.8
38.8

1500 to infinity
12.4
The spectral quality of light incident to the ground is affected by selected absorption by
water vapor gases and aerosols. Water vapor is a strong absorber of light with
wavelengths of 100, 1400, 1600 and 1900 nm. Ozone absorbs ultraviolet light ( < 300
nm), CO2 absorbs strongly in the 2750 and 4250 nm bands and oxygen absorbs 690 and
760 nm sunlight (Bonhomme, 1995).
The spectral quality of sunlight varies with the direct/diffuse fraction of sunlight and the
solar elevation angle. Ross (1976) provides an algorithm for the conversion factor
between PAR and Rg as a function of the direct beam and diffuse components (this
algorithm is for daily integrated fluxes of solar energy):
f par :Rg
0.60 0.42 Rbeam / Rdiffuse

1 Rbeam / Rdiffuse
On a clear day with 10% diffuse radiation, fpar:rg is 0.438. On a cloudy day with 90%
diffuse radiation, fpar:rg is 0.582.
On an hourly basis, the PAR:Rg ratio, for direct radiation, ranges from 0.2 to 0.43 as
solar elevation goes from 0 to 40 degrees. It then remains relatively constant with higher
elevation angles. For diffuse radiation, this ratio ranges from about 0.6 to 0.75. As a
quick rule of thumb, the PAR:Rg, for total radiation, is rather conservative, being on the
order of 0.46 to 0.50 (these computations assume that PAR conversion factor between
quanta and energy is 4.6 umol quanta per J).
Electromagnic radiation is measured or quantified, interchangeably in terms of quanta or
energy. Therefore, certain terminology is used to describe the transfer of this energy to
the surface.
Table 5
Term
number of photons
photon flux
photon flux density
symbol and unit

Mole
mole s-1
mole m-2 s-1
photon intensity
photon radiance
mole s-1 st-1

mole m-2 s-1
1 dI
cos da
mole m-2 s-1
photon irradiance
Description
6.023 1023 photons
dQ/dt
net radiant flux per unit area, normal to the
area
radiant flux though a solid angle
radiant flux pass through a unit area of surface
in the direction of the unit solid angle
number of photons incident on a surface per

unit area and time
Table 6
term
radiant energy
radiant flux
radiant flux density
symbol and unit

Q (J)
J s-1
J m-2 s-1
radiant intensity
radiance
J s-1 st-1
J m-2 s-1
1 dI
cos da
J m-2 s-1
irradiance
(note: solid angle, d
Description
Energy
dQ/dt
net radiant flux per unit area, normal to the
area
radiant flux though a solid angle
radiant flux pass through a unia area of surface
in the direction of the unit solid angle
energy incident on a surface per unit area and

time
dA
r2
intensity (Watts per steradian)

I
dF
)
d
The relation between energy and the wavelength or frequency of light, attributed to
Planck, is:
E h hc / vacuum
where h is Planck's constant, 6.626 10-34 J s,
5.5e-19
Photon energy (J)
5.0e-19
4.5e-19
4.0e-19
3.5e-19
3.0e-19
2.5e-19
4e-7
5e-7
6e-7
7e-7
wave length
photoen.spw
7/22/99
Figure 2 spectra of energy with wavelength
Mean wavelength of sunlight is about 550 nm. This sunlight has a photon energy of 2.15
105 J mol-1. The inverse of this value yields a convenient conversion coefficient between
photon flux density and radiant flux density (4.6 mol J-1).
L5.2.1 Radiation Laws attributed to Plancks, Stefan-Boltzmann and Wein

Planck's Law is one of the most important concepts in modern physics. It has much
importance for biometeorology for it gives us information about the spectral emission of
energy from the Sun.
Plancks Laws defines the amount of energy emitted as a function of the temperature
and the wavelength of the source with units of J m-3 s-1. Its essentially a probability
distribution for the change in energy with a respect to the change in wavelength:
dE ( , T )
2hc 2
E * ( , T )
hc
d
5 (exp(
) 1)
kT

k is the Bolzmann constant, 1.3806503 10-23 kg m2 s-2 K-1 or (J K-1)
Mathematical manipulation of Plancks Law yields useful insights about the transfer of
electromagnetic radiation. Integrating Plancks distribution with respect to wavelength,
for instance, yields the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that the radiant energy
emitted by a surface is proportional to its temperature taken to the fourth power.
( , T )d L T 4 (W m-2)
is the Stefan-Bolztmann constant (5.67 10-8 W m-2 K-4). This equation is especially
useful for it helps us gauge the radiative temperatures of the sun.
Luminosity equals the solar constant, measured at the Earths surface times the area of a
sphere with a radius equal to the distance between the earth and sun.
L S* 4R 2
L= 1366 x 4 x 3.1415 x (1.50 1011)2 = 3.9 1026 W
Knowing that that radius of the sun is 6.69 108 m, we can form a balance between the
black body radiation law and the emittance of the sun, to calculate its temperature
3 .9 10 26
T
4 r 2
4
yields a surface temperature of 5770 K.

By examining the suns or Earths spectrum we are inclined to ask, what is the
wavelength of that radiating source when E is maximal? This question can be answered
with Wiens Law. Wiens Law is derived by examining the maximum of a function.
This equation is derived by solving for wavelength when the partial derivative of
Plancks Law with respect to wavelength equals zero:
E * ( T , )
0
The solution yields:
max
2897
(m)
Tk

For the case where the sun is about 5700 to 5800 K, the maximum wavelength is 483 nm
which falls in the blue-green portion of the spectrum.
Climatological records show that the mean earth surface temperature is about 288 K,
therefore the earth emits radiation at 10 um, which is in the infrared portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
L5.2.2 Photon Interactions with the Surface

When photons, interacting with material, are either absorbed (as with a black surface),
reflected (as with a bright white surface) or transmitted (as with the passage of sunlight
through glass.
Absorptivity: the fraction of incident radiation flux absorbed by a surface
Reflectivity: the fraction of incident radiation flux density that is reflected by a surface
Transmissivity: the fraction of incident radiation flux density that is transmitted through
a surface.
Since the absorptivity, reflectivity and transmissivities are fractions of incident sunlight,
their sum, with respect to their behavior for a given wavelength, equals one.
( ) ( ) ( ) 1
Because E is not a linear function of wavelength, the average reflectance, absorptance
and transmittance must be determined by weighting a surfaces reflectance according to
the light spectrum, to compute these variables across a broad band portion of the
spectrum.
( ) E ( ) d
( )E( )d
( )E( )d
E ( ) d
E( )d
E( )d
The reflectance in the visible portion of the EM spectrum is called albedo. Typical
values for common surfaces are listed below

L5.2.3 Albedo
Albedo is not only the name of our dog, but it is defined as the fraction of incident
radiation that is reflected by a surface. It is derived from the Latin word albus for white.
Figure 3 Albedo I.
A reflectance spectrum taken of Albedo proves this, showing very high reflectance for
the whole visible waveband of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Albedo's reflectance
1.0
Reflectance
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Wavelength (nm)
Figure 4 Reflectance spectra taken of Albedo.
In meteorology, albedo is a fundamental parameter used in weather models and models

that compute the radiative balance of the Earths surface. The Earth, as viewed from
space, has an albedo of 30%.
10
Figure 5 Picture of Earth from space
The albedo of different vegetation surfaces varies widely. Deserts and snow are highly
reflective, as seen in Figure 5. By contrast, forests are optically dark. Crops and short
vegetation tend to have medium albedos.
Table 7 List of Reflectances for a range of vegetation and soil types (Campbell and Norman, 1998,
Davies and Idso, 1979(Oke, 1987))
Surface
Grass
Wheat
Maize
Beets
Potato
Rain Forest
Deciduous forest
Coniferous forest
SubArctic
Savanna
Steppe
Fresh snow
Old snow
Wet dark soil
Dry dark soil
Dry sand
Reflectivity
0.17-0.28
0.16-0.26
0.18-0.22
0.18
0.19
0.12
0.10-0.20
0.05-0.15
0.09-0.20
0.16-0.21
0.20
0.75-0.95
0.40-0.70
0.08
0.13
0.35
Boreal forest with

snow
0.12-0.30
11

Newer measurements of albedo from space and networks of flux towers enable us to rank
albedo by plant functional type, with mean values, averaged over a year ranging between
0.1 and 0.2. Evergreen needleleaved forests (ENF) have the lowest albedo, followed by
wetlands (WET), mixed forests (MF), deciduous broadleaved forests (DBF), woody
savanna (WSA), evergreen broadleaved forests (EBF), savanna (SAV), crops (CRO),
grasslands (GRA) and open shrubland (OSH). Note these values will vary seasonally as
there are changes in leaf area, wet and dry soils, and the presence and absence of leaves
and snow.
Figure 6 Mean yearly values of albedo by plant functional type (Cescatti et al., 2012)
The role of snow and forest landscapes is particularly interesting. The presence of snow
in the Boreal zone does not lead to as bright an albedo as was presumed by weather
forecasters.
12
Figure 7 Snow covered fen and adjacent black spruce forest. Notice the bright fen, as it consists of
low level herbaceous vegetation. In contrast the adjacent spruce forest is quite dark, despite the
presence of snow. Boreas project
Figure 8 James Bay, Canada, MODIS Satellite.

Notice the dark spots from the interception of light by the boreal forest, even though the landscape is
covered with snow, a larger scale example of the one demonstrated in Figure 5.
http://modland.nascom.nasa.gov/gallery/?JamesBay.A2000055.1645.1110x840.jpg
13
Figure 9 Dark, low albedo of old age redwood stand, next to clear cuts and forest regrowth. Orick,
CA.
In this situation, we can observe how albedo decreases with canopy rugosity (Figure 9)
(Ogunjemiyo et al., 2005).
Figure 10 Albedo and canopy rugosity (Ogunjemiyo et al., 2005)
14
Figure 11 Brighter landscape of oak savanna, open vegetation with dead and highly reflective grass
underneath.
In the BOREAS experimental region, the winter background albedo of the forest is on the
order of 0.12 to 0.30, while over grass it was 0.70. Computations of temperature using an
older version of the European Center Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF)
model predicted temperatures that were up to 10oC too cold, as they assumed that a forest
with snow was highly reflective. When the regional albedo was reset to 0.2 there became
good agreement between measured and forecasted temperatures.
Life history is another issue affecting albedo. Figure 11 shows the reflectivity of visible
light over a grazed grassland when it was green and photosynthesizing and dead and dry.
Albedo more than triples, at midday, when the grass changes from being green and dry.
15
0.30
green grass, D50-60
dead grass D214-220
0.25
PAR Albedo
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
8
10
12
14
16
18
time (hours)
Figure 12 Reflectivity of visible light (photosynthetically active radiation) over a grazed grassland
near Ione, CA.
5.3 Hyperspectral Albedo and Ecological Function

The broadband reflectance can be broken down into its spectral components. Here we see
a seasonal transition and observe the fact that different portions of the spectra vary, due to
the presence and absence of plant pigments, soil moisture, crop health etc.
Figure 13 Reflectance spectra of an annual grassland. Unpublished data of M. Falk, D. Baldocchi

and S. Ma.
16
Recent analyze by Ollinger et al (Ollinger et al., 2008) and Hollinger et al (Hollinger et

al., 2010) have shown a strong relation between spectrally selected reflectance bands and
leaf nitrogen (Figure 13). Hence by measuring albedo from space one can produce
spatial maps of leaf nitrogen for a range of ecosystems (Figure 14).
Figure 14 after Ollinger et al. Hyperspectral reflectance and classes of leaf nitrogen
17
Figure 15 Ollinger et al. 2008
SUMMARY
Plancks Law defines the spectral distribution energy radiating of a black body
surface of a given temperature.
The main broadband wave bands of solar energy are ultraviolet, visible and near
infrared.
Integrating Plancks Law with respect to wavelength from zero to infinity
produces the Stefan-Boltzmann Law which states that the amount of energy
18
radiativing from a black body is proportional to its temperature to the fourth

power.
Differentiating Plancks Law with respect to wavelength and solving for the
maximum value (the wavelength when the derivative is zero) produces Wiens
Law, which states that the maximum wavelength is inversely proportional to
surface temperature
One can derive how hot the sun is by knowing its spectral distribution and solving
for Wiens Law. It can also be derived from geometrical considerations knowing
the solar constant, the distance between Earth and the Sun, the Suns radius and
the Stefan-Bolzmann law.
Incident radiation is absorbed, reflected or transmitted.
The albedo of land is a function of vegetation leaf area and height, soil exposure,
and its moisture content.
Points to Ponder
The Figure below shows the spectral distribution of sunlight for current conditions and
pre-historic times. There are some interesting relationships between the spectral output
of radiation and the co-evolution of vision (Fernald, 2006), life (Marais and Walter,
1999) and photosynthesis (Clegg et al., 1994).
1. Note the correspondence between the current spectral peak and the range over
which we see.
2. Note the correspondence between the spectral peak of the faint sun and the
pigments that evolved for photosynthesis, that use 680 and 720 nm radiation.
1e+14
8e+13
E(,T)
6e+13
4e+13
2e+13
0
0.1
(m)
Tsun = 5800K
Faint Sun, T=4680 K
19
Bibliography
Bonhomme, R. 1993. The solar radiation: characterization and distribution in the canopy.
In: Crop Structure and Light Microclimate. INRA. Varlet-Grancher, Bonhomme
and Sinoquet (eds) pp 17-28.
Campbell, GS and JM Norman. 1998. An Introduction to Environmental Biophysics.
Springer.
Chandrasekhar, S. 1950. Fundamentals of Radiative Transfer. Dover Press
Davies, J.A. and S.B. Idso. 1979. Estimating the surface radiation balance and its
components. In: Modification of the Aerial Environment of Crops. ed. B.J.
Barfield and J.F. Gerber. ASAE. St. Joseph, MO. pp 183-210.
Hess, S.L. 1959. Introduction to Theoretical Meteorology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
New York. 362 pp.
Monteith, J.L. and M.H. Unsworth. Principles of Environmental Physics, 2nd edition
Oke, T.R. 1987. Boundary Layer Climates. Metheun.
Stanhill, G. and Cohen, S., 2001. Global dimming: a review of the evidence for a
widespread and significant reduction in global radiation with discussion of its
probable causes and possible agricultural consequences. Agricultural and Forest
Meteorology, 107(4): 255-278.
Wallace J.M and P.V Hobbs. 1977. Atmospheric Science, An Introductory Survey.
Academic Press.
Data Resources
Sunphotometer data and atmospheric optical depth information
http://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/
EndNote References
Cescatti, A. et al., 2012. Intercomparison of MODIS albedo retrievals and in situ
measurements across the global FLUXNET network. Remote Sensing of
Environment, 121: 323-334.
Clegg, M., Gaut, B., Learn, G., Jr and Morton, B., 1994. Rates and Patterns of
Chloroplast DNA Evolution. PNAS, 91(15): 6795-6801.
20

Fernald, R.D., 2006. Casting a Genetic Light on the Evolution of Eyes. Science,
313(5795): 1914-1918.
Hollinger, D.Y. et al., 2010. Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a
new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration. Global Change Biology,
16(2): 696-710.
Lean, J., 1997. The sun's variable radiation and its relevance for earth. Annual Review of
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 35: 33-67.
Marais, D.J.D. and Walter, M.R., 1999. ASTROBIOLOGY: Exploring the Origins,
Evolution, and Distribution of Life in the Universe. Annual Review of Ecology
and Systematics, 30(1): 397-420.
Ogunjemiyo, S., Parker, G. and Roberts, D., 2005. Reflections in bumpy terrain:
implications of canopy surface variations for the radiation balance of vegetation.
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, IEEE, 2(1): 90-93.
Oke, T.R., 1987. Boundary Layer Climates, 2nd Edition. Methuen, 435 pp.
Ollinger, S.V. et al., 2008. Canopy nitrogen, carbon assimilation, and albedo in temperate
and boreal forests: Functional relations and potential climate feedbacks.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America, 105(49): 19336-19341.
Ross, J., 1976. Radiative Transfer in Plant Communities. In: J.L. Monteith (Editor),
Vegetation and the Atmosphere, vol 1. Academic Press, London.
Ross, J., 1980. The Radiation Regime and Architecture of Plant Stands. Dr. W Junk, The
Hague.
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Biometeorology, ESPM 129