GEOG 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Cumulonimbus Cloud, September Equinox, Subsolar Point
Document Summary
Temperature at the surface in the tropics. Most of our energy comes from the sun with very little coming from earth itself (geothermal). Climatic and global variations in energy are ultimately caused by the amount of solar radiation received at the surface, also called the irradiance. Solar constant: average solar radiation (insolation) received on a surface at the top of the atmosphere at mean (average) distance from sun. Most of this energy comes at shorter wavelengths of energy, shorter than. Total solar radiation received at a place depends on duration and intensity of insolation and on cloud cover. What controls duration & intensity: rotation of earth on its axis and and constant tilt of earth"s axis as it orbits the sun annually (controls amount of radiation received) Control of solar insolation received at surface: Sun angle (intensity): changes with latitude, time of day, time of year. Duration (day length) changes with latitude, time of year.
