Estimating global solar radiation

A model is presented to calculate daily totals of global solar radiation. First, cloudless sky radiation is evaluated from transmission due to absorption and scattering. Cloud effects are added using cloud layer transmission. A simple expression to account for additional radiation due to reflection between the ground surface and cloud bases is also included. Atmospheric transmissions are obtained from previous studies. Precipitable water and observations of cloud type and amount for different layers in the atmosphere are the only meteorological variables required. The model is evaluated and tested with data collected at stations in and around Lake Ontario: a lake station near Grimsby in 1969 and land stations at Burlington, Scarborough, Peterborough, Trenton and Kingston, Ontario in 1972 and 1973 during the International Field Year for the Great Lakes. Good agreement between calculated and measured radiation was obtained at all stations, particularly for 5- and 10-day means. Model performance was largely independent of both cloud amount and season.     

Building global and diffuse solar radiation series and assessing decadal trends in Girona (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Measurement of solar radiation was initiated in Girona, northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in the late 1980s. Initially, two pyranometers were installed, one of them equipped with a shadowband for measuring the diffuse component. Two other pyranometers currently exist, both ventilated and one of them shadowed, with a sphere, and a pyrheliometer for measuring direct radiation. Additional instruments for other shortwave and longwave components, clouds, and atmospheric aerosols have been installed in recent years. The station is subject to daily inspection, data are saved at high temporal resolution, and instruments are periodically calibrated, all in accordance with the directions of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network. The present paper describes how the entire series of global solar radiation (1987–2014) and diffuse radiation (1994–2014) were built, including the quality control process. Appropriate corrections to the diffuse component were made when a shadowband was employed to make measurements. Analysis of the series reveals that annual mean global irradiance presents a statistically significant increase of 2.5 W m⁻² (1.4 %) decade⁻¹ (1988–2014 period), mainly due to what occurs in summer (5.6 W m⁻² decade⁻¹). These results constitute the first assessment of solar radiation trends for the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula and are consistent with trends observed in the regional surroundings and also by satellite platforms, in agreement with the global brightening phenomenon. Diffuse radiation has decreased at −1.3 W m⁻² (−2 %) decade⁻¹ (1994–2014 period), which is a further indication of the reduced cloudiness and/or aerosol load causing the changes.

     

A cloud-based reconstruction of surface solar radiation trends for Australia

Summary Despite its importance to climate change, reliable and calibrated measurements of solar radiation are available only after 1992 for Australia. In this study we extend the data base from 1967 to 2004 by the development of a cloud-based solar radiation model. Results show no significant change in the majority of stations, although slightly more than one quarter of the stations report a significant decrease of solar radiation with a maximum of just less than one percent per decade. Trend analyses also detect an upturn in many of the southern stations in the late eighties which appear to relate to changes in middle and high cloud cover. Authors’ addresses: Manuel Nunez, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 78, Hobart 7005, Australia; Yun Li, CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia.     

几种水平面太阳总辐射量计算模型的对比分析

利用中国区域1961-1999年39 a间98个常规气象观测数据,建立6个模型分别以天文辐射、干洁大气总辐射和湿洁大气总辐射为起始数据,进行太阳辐射日总量的模拟,对比分析了6个水平面太阳总辐射量计算模型的性能.结果表明:在三种起始数据中,干洁大气总辐射和湿洁大气总辐射均能较好地体现宏观地势对太阳辐射空间分布的影响,以湿洁大气总辐射为起始数据的计算模型拟合精度相对较高.对6个水平面太阳总辐射量计算模型的对比分析发现:2个以日照百分率为主导因子,气温日较差为修正项的综合模型拟合误差最小,精度最高;经典的日照百分率模型次之,但其模型系数最稳定可靠;3个气温日较差模型拟合效果最差.最终选用经验系数稳定、拟合精度较高的日照百分率模型,制作了2001年中国水平面太阳辐射日总量空间分布图.     

Evaluation and estimation of daily global solar radiation from the estimated direct and diffuse solar radiation

Active layer plays a key role in regulating the dynamics of hydrothermal processes and ecosystems that are sensitive to the changing climate in permafrost regions. However, little is known about the hydrothermal dynamics during freeze-thaw processes in permafrost regions with different vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In the present study, the freezing and thawing processes at four sites (QT01, 03, 04, and 05) with different vegetation types on the QTP was analyzed. The results indicated that the impact on the soil water and heat during the summer thawing process was markedly greater than that during the autumn freezing process. Furthermore, the thermal-orbit regression slopes for all sites exhibited a homologous variation as the depth increased, with the slowest attenuation for the meadow sites (QT01 and QT03) and a slightly faster attenuation for the desert steppe site (QT05). The air and ground surface temperatures were similar in winter, but the ground surface temperature was significantly higher than the air temperature in summer in the radiation-rich environment at all sites on the QTP. The results also indicated that the n-factors were between 0.36 and 0.55 during the thawing season, and the annual mean temperature near the permafrost table was between − 1.26 and − 1.84 °C. In the alpine desert steppe region, the thermal conditions exhibited to show a warming trend, with a current permafrost table temperature of − 0.22 °C. The annual changing amplitude of the ground temperature at the permafrost table was different for different vegetation types.     

Retrieving daily global solar radiation from routine climate variables

Solar radiation is an important variable for studies related to solar energy applications, meteorology, climatology, hydrology, and agricultural meteorology. However, solar radiation is not routinely measured at meteorological stations; therefore, it is often required to estimate it using other techniques such as retrieving from satellite data or estimating using other geophysical variables. Over the years, many models have been developed to estimate solar radiation from other geophysical variables such as temperature, rainfall, and sunshine duration. The aim of this study was to evaluate six of these models using data measured at four independent worldwide networks. The dataset included 13 stations from Australia, 25 stations from Germany, 12 stations from Saudi Arabia, and 48 stations from the USA. The models require either sunshine duration hours (Ångstrom) or daily range of air temperature (Bristow and Campbell, Donatelli and Bellocchi, Donatelli and Campbell, Hargreaves, and Hargreaves and Samani) as input. According to the statistical parameters, Ångstrom and Bristow and Campbell indicated a better performance than the other models. The bias and root mean square error for the Ångstrom model were less than 0.25 MJ m² day^?1 and 2.25 MJ m² day^?1, respectively, and the correlation coefficient was always greater than 95 %. Statistical analysis using Student’s t test indicated that the residuals for Ångstrom, Bristow and Campbell, Hargreaves, and Hargreaves and Samani are not statistically significant at the 5 % level. In other words, the estimated values by these models are statistically consistent with the measured data. Overall, given the simplicity and performance, the Ångstrom model is the best choice for estimating solar radiation when sunshine duration measurements are available; otherwise, Bristow and Campbell can be used to estimate solar radiation using daily range of air temperature.     

Global photosynthetically active radiation and its relationship with global solar radiation in the Eastern Mediterranean basin

Summary ?The relationship between global photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and global solar radiation is studied with a 2-year data archive of hourly values H_PAR and H_SW of these irradiances obtained at Athalassa, Cyprus. These data are used to determine the temporal variability of H_PAR and its dependence on sky conditions. The seasonal variation of the ratio H_PAR/H_SW obtained from daily data ranges from 0.456 (during summer) to 0.451 (during winter) with an annual mean value of 0.454. The ratio increases from 0.454 to 0.467 (daily values) or from 0.460 to 0.501 (hourly values), as sky conditions change from clear to overcast. Finally, the effect of aerosol content on the H_PAR/H_SW ratio is found to incur substantial changes in the PAR fraction. Received June 27, 2001; revised April 17, 2002; accepted May 18, 2002     

两种太阳总辐射分钟级预报方法的比较

利用2010年9月1月至2011年8月31日中国气象局风能太阳能资源中心吐鲁番太阳能试验站水平太阳总辐射逐分钟观测资料,对统计外推法（简称外推法,TRD）和动态神经网络法（简称神经网络法,NNN）两种太阳总辐射分钟级预报方法进行比较。结果表明：从全年平均角度来看,外推法略优于神经网络法。两种预报方法的预报效果都主要依赖于天气形势,晴天预报效果最好,阴雨天气次之,多云和扬沙天气预报效果较差。外推法能较为准确地反映起报时刻影响辐射观测的云、气溶胶、沙尘等状况,并将这种影响持续至滚动预报的第一步或第二步;而神经网络法在预报阴雨、多云等复杂天气形势下预报要素的非趋势性变化规律方面略优;外推法预报日出后3 h和日落前3 h的太阳总辐射变化明显优于神经网络法;而神经网络法预报太阳总辐射突然变化特征时略优于外推法。     

A simplified calibrated model for estimating daily global solar radiation in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Solar radiation is the most important parameter in defining the energy budget at the surface thereby influencing the hydroclimate. Several empirical models based on air temperature are developed and used in several decision-making needs such as agriculture and energy sector. However, a calibration against direct observations is a priori for implementing such models. A calibrated model is developed for Saudi Arabia (Madinah) based on observations during 2007–2011. The model $ \left( {\mathrm{Rs}=A+B\cdot \mathrm{R}{{\mathrm{s}}_0}{{{\left( {{T_{\max }}-{T_{\min }}} \right)}}^C}} \right) $ is used to estimate daily solar radiation and results show a correlation coefficient of 0.94. The calibrated model outperforms the uncalibrated model available for this location. To increase the confidence, the calibrated model is also compared with a simple artificial neural network.     

Luminous efficacy of global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for overcast and intermediate skies

Summary  In the first part of this research two models for the luminous efficacy of global solar radiation on horizontal surfaces and overcast skies have been developed. The first of these models is developed using a method similar to that proposed by Littlefair (1988). The second model has been obtained from the corresponding illuminance and irradiance models in an, apparently, new approach to the subject. In the second part of this research, a model for the luminous efficacy of global solar radiation for intermediate skies and horizontal surfaces is developed from the corresponding illuminance and irradiance models. The model for intermediate skies is given by the same mathematical function as that of the analogous model for overcast skies, and only the empirical constants change. In all the cases the only independent variables used are the solar altitude and the brightness index. The models proposed in the present paper have been statistically tested, and their prediction accuracy compared with other models available in the scientific literature. Received June 26, 2000 Revised December 9, 2000     

The phase lag of temperature behind global solar radiation over Egypt

Summary The relation between the air temperature and the global solar radiation, which can be conveniently represented by the three characteristics: mean, amplitude and phase lag of the first harmonic of global radiation and air temperatures. A good correlation between the air temperature and the solar radiation has been found when the phase lag between them is nearly of 30 days.With 6 Figures     

Assessing the performance of global solar radiation empirical formulations in Kampala, Uganda

Summary Solar radiation incident on the Earth’s surface is a determining factor of climate on Earth, hence having a proper solar radiation database is crucial in understanding climate processes in the Earth’s atmosphere. Solar radiation data may be used in the development of insolation maps, analysis of crop growth and in the simulation of solar systems. Unfortunately, measured solar radiation data may not be available in locations where it is most needed. An alternative to obtaining observed data is to estimate it using an appropriate solar radiation model. The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of thirteen global solar radiation empirical formulations, in Kampala, Uganda, located in an African Equatorial region. The best performing formulations were determined using the ranking method. The mean bias error, root mean square error and t-statistic value were calculated and utilized in the ranking process. Results have shown that the formulation: is ranked the highest and therefore is the recommended empirical equation for the estimation of the monthly mean global solar irradiation in Kampala, Uganda and in other African Equatorial locations with similar climate and terrain.     

Precise estimation of hourly global solar radiation for micrometeorological analysis by using data classification and hourly sunshine

We have developed a method for estimating hourly global solar radiation (GSR) from hourly sunshine duration data. This procedure requires only hourly sunshine duration as the input data and utilizes hourly precipitation and daily snow cover as auxiliary data to classify time intervals into six cases according to weather conditions. To obtain hourly GSR using a simple algebraic form, a quadratic function of the solar elevation angle and the sunshine duration ratio is used. Daily GSR is given by a sum of hourly GSRs. We evaluated the performance of the newly developed method using data obtained at 67 meteorological stations and found that the estimated GSR is highly consistent with that observed. Hourly and daily root-mean-square misfits are approximately 0.2 MJ/m²/h (~55 W/m²) and 1.4 to 1.5 MJ/m²/day (~16 to 17 W/m²), respectively. Our classification of weather conditions is effective for reducing estimation errors, especially under cloudy skies. Since the sunshine duration is observed at more meteorological stations than GSR, the proposed new method is a powerful tool for obtaining solar radiation with hourly resolution and a dense geographical distribution. One of the proposed methods, GSRgrn, can be applicable to hourly GSR estimations at different observation sites by setting local parameters (the precipitable water, surface albedo, and atmospheric turbidity) suitable to the sites. The hourly GSR can be applied for various micrometeorological studies, such as the heat budget of crop fields.