Where is solar radiation lowest on earth?

Where is solar radiation lowest on earth?

poles
Earth receives different amounts of solar energy at different latitudes, with the most at the equator and the least at the poles.

What surface reflects the most solar radiation?

Snow, ice, and clouds have high albedos (typically from 0.7 to 0.9) and reflect more energy than they absorb. Earth’s average albedo is about 0.3. In other words, about 30 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space and 70 percent is absorbed.

What reflects the solar radiation?

Air molecules and aerosols scatter solar radiation in the atmosphere. Glaciers and ice sheets have high albedos, reflecting 80% to 90% of the radiation reaching their surfaces. The albedo of clouds varies depending on their thickness, with an average albedo of 55%. Water reflects a small amount of solar radiation.

What is solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface?

The solar radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface without being diffused is called direct beam solar radiation. The sum of the diffuse and direct solar radiation is called global solar radiation. Atmospheric conditions can reduce direct beam radiation by 10% on clear, dry days and by 100% during thick, cloudy days.

In which form solar rays reach the earth surface?

Most of the solar radiation that reaches Earth is made up of visible and infrared light. Only a small amount of ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface. Not all radiation emitted from the sun reaches Earth’s surface. Much of it is absorbed, reflected or scattered in the atmosphere.

What surfaces reflect incoming solar energy?

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.

Do clouds reflect solar radiation?

Low, thick clouds primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the surface of the Earth. High, thin clouds primarily transmit incoming solar radiation; at the same time, they trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation emitted by the Earth and radiate it back downward, thereby warming the surface of the Earth.

Why do the Poles receive less solar radiation?

It receives less solar radiation than the equator because the angle of incidence is much smaller. The sun’s rays do not strike the Earth’s surface as directly at the North Pole; they are less focused. The difference in the amount of solar energy the land receives causes the atmosphere to move the way it does.

Which type of radiation reach the surface without absorption or without scattering?

Explanation: Solar radiation that has not been absorbed or scattered and reaches the ground from the sun is called direct radiation or beam radiation.

Why does the Earth absorb less solar radiation than the Sun?

The solar radiation absorbed by the Earth causes the planet to heat up until it is emitting as much energy back into space as it absorbs from the sun. Because the Earth is absorbing only a tiny fraction of the sun’s energy, it remains cooler than the sun, and therefore emits much less radiation.

How does the amount of solar radiation vary?

The amount of solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth’s surface varies according to: 1 Geographic location 2 Time of day 3 Season 4 Local landscape 5 Local weather.

Why does a cloud reflect more radiation than the surface?

Because a cloud usually has a higher albedo than the surface beneath it, the cloud reflects more shortwave radiation back to space than the surface would in the absence of the cloud, thus leaving less solar energy available to heat the surface and atmosphere. Hence, this “cloud albedo forcing,” taken by itself,…

Is the radiation from the sun absorbed or reflected?

But not all of the radiation emitted by the Sun makes it to the Earth’s surface. Some of it is absorbed, but much of it is reflected off of the surface or scattered off of the atmosphere. This is actually a good thing, given that ‘too much’ radiation would render the planet lifeless!