Amount of solar energy reflected by a surface

Fundamentals of Solar Energy

Solar irradiation is the solar energy received by a 1 m 2 surface. Solar energy is reflected, absorbed and scattered before reaching the earth (Fig. 1.1). Fig. 1.1. The amount of energy that can be generated by photovoltaic effect is related to the amount of solar radiation and how long it is received. Thus, the measurements to analyze the

Understanding Reflected Solar Energy of Glazing Systems in

can play a role in how much reflected solar radiation is reflected onto adjacent surfaces. All environmental conditions play a role in the heat transfer of any receiving surface that could result in mate-rial damage. Variables other than direct and reflected solar radiation could impact the amount of heat transfer of a surface, such as:

Solar Reflectivity — Smart Surfaces Coalition

Solar radiation can either be reflected or absorbed when it hits the earth. Solar radiation that is reflected back into space does not contribute to global warming via radiative forcing.Therefore, the surface property of "reflectivity" presents an important opportunity to reduce the amount of solar energy heating up the earth. Materials with higher reflectivity, or higher albedo, reflect

What happens when solar radiation is reflected?

Reflection occurs when incoming solar radiation bounces back from an object or surface that it strikes in the atmosphere, on land, or water, and is not transformed into heat. The proportion of incoming solar radiation that is reflected by the Earth is known as its albedo.

Earth''s energy budget

Of the ~340 W/m 2 of solar radiation received by the Earth, an average of ~77 W/m 2 is reflected back to space by clouds and the atmosphere and ~23 W/m 2 is reflected by the surface albedo, leaving ~240 W/m 2 of solar energy input to the Earth''s energy budget. This amount is called the absorbed solar radiation (ASR).

Solar Radiation & The Earth''s Energy Balance | Dawn Wells

The amount of sunlight the Earth absorbs depends on the reflectivness of the atmosphere and the ground surface. This satellite map shows the amount of solar radiation (watts per square meter) reflected during September 2008. Along the equator, clouds reflected a large proportion of sunlight, while the pale sands of the Sahara caused the high

Incoming solar radiation: absortion by the atmosphere

Reflected solar radiation is the part of incident solar radiation reflected from the earth''s surface due to the albedo effect. The albedo is the reflection coefficient c. Values of c are generally between 0 and 1 or are expressed as a percentage. It is given by the relationship between the radiant energy reflected from a surface concerning the

ess quiz Flashcards | Quizlet

The albedo effect is the amount of solar energy reflected at the Earth''s surface. Lowering albedo leads to a greater amount of solar energy being absorbed rather than reflected and causes increased temperatures. This is an example of: Positive feedback.

Chapter 2: Solar and Infrared Radiation

Surface Energy Balance. Arguably the most important aspect to consider about the Earth-Sun system is the energy balance. In steady-state, the amount of incoming energy should equal the amount of outgoing energy (Net Radiative Flux=F*=0). Let''s start with the incoming solar radiation. The solar constant "S" is approximately equal to 1361 W

Absorption / reflection of sunlight

The amount of sunlight that is absorbed or reflected by Earth''s surface and atmosphere affects the energy budget, the amount of energy available on Earth that drives system processes and phenomena. The absorption and reflection of sunlight is an essential part of How the Earth

Solar Radiation

The amount of energy put out by the Sun is a constant. The incoming solar radiation is known as insolation. The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth is 70 percent. The surface of the Earth absorbs 51 percent of the insolation. Water vapor and dust account for 16 percent of the energy absorbed. The other 3 percent is absorbed by clouds.

How Do Clouds Affect Solar Energy?

In fact, energy from the sun, called solar energy, is the most abundant energy resource on Earth. According to the Department of Energy, the amount of sunlight that strikes Earth''s surface in 90 minutes is enough to meet the entire world''s energy needs for a full year. You can feel the sun''s energy as heat and see it as light.

Albedo Values

When sunlight reaches the Earth''s surface, some of it is absorbed and some is reflected. The relative amount (ratio) of light that a surface reflects compared to the total incoming sunlight is called albedo. A surface with a high albedo will

What percentage of incoming solar radiation is reflected by Earth?

The proportion of incoming solar radiation that is reflected by the Earth is known as its albedo. Overall, Earth reflects about 29% of the incoming solar radiation, and therefore, we say the Earth''s average albedo is 0.29.

Solar irradiance

Global distribution of incoming shortwave solar radiation averaged over the years 1981–2010 from the CHELSA-BIOCLIM+ data set [1] The shield effect of Earth''s atmosphere on solar irradiation. The top image is the annual mean solar irradiation (or insolation) at the top of Earth''s atmosphere (TOA); the bottom image shows the annual insolation reaching the Earth''s surface after

Solar energy to the Earth

Albedo refers to the amount of energy reflected by a surface and is measured on a scale from zero to one (or sometimes as a percent). Dark colored surfaces, like ocean and forests, reflect very little of the solar energy that gets to them, while

Climate and Earth''s Energy Budget

About 29 percent of the solar energy that arrives at the top of the atmosphere is reflected back to space by clouds, atmospheric particles, or bright ground surfaces like sea ice and snow. they are also radiating thermal infrared energy (heat). The amount of heat a surface radiates is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature. If

Solar Energy, Albedo, and the Polar Regions

Some of the sun''s energy is reflected back to space by clouds and the earth''s surface. about 30 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space and 70 percent is absorbed. Seasons result from variations in the amount of the sun''s energy hitting the surface, due to the tilt of the earth''s rotation on its axis and

Solar energy

Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest, 122 PW, is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The potential solar energy that could be used by humans differs from the amount of solar energy present near the surface of the planet because factors such as geography, time variation, cloud cover, and the land available to

21.1: The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

When sunlight energy reaches Earth it can be reflected or absorbed. The amount that is reflected or absorbed depends on Earth''s surface and atmosphere. Light-colored objects and surfaces, like snow and clouds, tend to reflect most sunlight, while darker objects and surfaces, like the ocean and forests, tend to absorb more sunlight.

Can We Limit the Amount of Sunlight to Stop Climate Change?

The amount of incoming sunlight that is reflected back out to space is called albedo. On planets where most of the energy from the Sun is reflected back out into space, albedo is close to 1.0 (1.0 means that all of the sunlight is reflected).

Energy in the Atmosphere | Earth Science

Because of its high specific heat, the water stays cooler than the asphalt, even though it receives the same amount of solar radiation. Energy From the Sun. Most of the energy that reaches the Earth''s surface comes from the Sun (Figure below). About 44% of solar radiation is in the visible light wavelengths, but the Sun also emits infrared

How much solar energy is absorbed by the Earth?

Due to reflection by the atmosphere, clouds, and Earth''s surface we can approximate that 70% of solar energy incident on the edge of the Earth''s atmosphere is actually absorbed by the Earth. Taking this into account, the actual average amount of solar energy absorbed by the Earth amounts to:

Earth''s energy budget

OverviewEarth''s energy flowsDefinitionBudget analysisEarth''s energy imbalance (EEI)See alsoExternal links

In spite of the enormous transfers of energy into and from the Earth, it maintains a relatively constant temperature because, as a whole, there is little net gain or loss: Earth emits via atmospheric and terrestrial radiation (shifted to longer electromagnetic wavelengths) to space about the same amount of energy as it receives via solar insolation (all forms of electromagnetic radiation).

Reflected Radiation

Reflected radiation is the amount of solar energy reflected from a surface, based on the solar reflectance or albedo of the surface material. A surface with high solar reflectance, such as bright white materials (e.g., snow and ice), reflects most of the solar radiation that falls on it, whereas dark surfaces such as black asphalt pavement

Solar energy

One advantage that solar energy has over other forms of green energy is that it has an almost unlimited potential because of the vast amount of energy reaching the Earth from the Sun. If the problems of distribution and storage could be overcome, it would only be necessary to cover a small fraction of the Earth''s surface with solar panels to

2.5: Earth''s Energy Balance

Of all of the solar energy reaching the Earth, about 30% is reflected back into space from the atmosphere, clouds, and surface of the Earth (Figure 2.5.1). Another 23% of the energy is absorbed by the water vapor, clouds, and dust

What is solar energy & how does it affect the Earth?

Not all of the sunlight that strikes the top of the atmosphere is converted into energy at the surface of the Earth. The Solar energy to the Earth refers to this energy that hits the surface of the Earth itself. The amount of energy that reaches the the Earth provides a useful understanding of the energy for the Earth as a system.

The albedo of Earth

However, the amount of reflected energy and the time at which this reflected energy is maximum are also influenced by local changes to atmospheric and surface properties. These complications are evident in the amplitude (Figure 6 a) and phase (Figure 6 b) of the seasonal cycle of reflected flux determined from the time and magnitudes of the

Geology Practice Quiz #1 Flashcards | Quizlet

Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The amount of solar energy reflected by a surface is known as _____., How does our modern concentration of atmospheric CO2 compare with CO2 during the past 800,000 years of Earth''s history? - Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been constant for the past 800,000 years. - It is lower today than at any