When solar radiation enters the atmosphere, most of it is absorbed by the Earth's surface. However, about 6 percent of the solar radiation is reflected back into space by the Earth's surface. This reflection occurs mainly from surfaces like ice, snow, and water, which have high albedo, meaning they reflect a significant portion of incoming solar energy.
About 30% of solar radiation entering the Earth's atmosphere is reflected back into space by the Earth's surface and atmosphere, a phenomenon known as albedo. Of this, roughly 10% is reflected directly by the surface, while the rest is reflected by clouds and atmospheric particles. The exact percentage can vary based on factors like surface type and atmospheric conditions.
Approximately 30% of the Sun's radiation is reflected back into space by clouds, atmospheric gases, and the Earth's surface. Additionally, about 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere, leaving around 50% of the Sun's radiation to reach the Earth's surface. This means that roughly 50% of the incoming solar radiation is lost before it reaches the ground.
The solar constant is a measure of the amount of solar radiation received per unit area at the outer atmosphere of the Earth. It represents the average solar power per unit area that is received on Earth's surface on a clear day.
The higher in the sky the sun is the more solar radiation received at the surface. This is because as the sun gets higher in the sky, there is less atmosphere blocking the sun's rays. Imagine the sun going through the atmosphere at a 90 degree angle. The thickness of the atmosphere let say is x thick. As the sun hit the surface at a lower angle, the thickness of the atmosphere has to go through more atmosphere to get to the surface. So the thicker atmosphere blocks more of the sun's rays.
The solar radiation that reaches the earths surface from the sun is called INSOLATION
When solar radiation enters the atmosphere, most of it is absorbed by the Earth's surface. However, about 6 percent of the solar radiation is reflected back into space by the Earth's surface. This reflection occurs mainly from surfaces like ice, snow, and water, which have high albedo, meaning they reflect a significant portion of incoming solar energy.
Insolation is intercepted solar radiation.
Because of the heat and light
Insolation is a measurement of the solar radiation received by a surface over a unit time. It is an abbreviation for "incoming solar radiation."the amount of sunlight that reaches a planet.
It blocks (some of) it from reaching the surface of the Earth.
Albedo refers to the reflectivity of a surface. Surfaces with high albedo reflect more solar radiation back into space, which can cool the Earth's surface and lower temperatures. Surfaces with low albedo absorb more solar radiation, leading to warming of the Earth's surface.
They tends to block incoming solar radiation, thereby cooling the surface. They don't really impact Earth's longwave radiation.
It find its way to earth
the Earth's tilted axis.
the Earth's tilted axis.
The amount of radiation absorbed by the Earth's surface varies depending on factors such as location, time of day, and cloud cover. On average, about half of the solar radiation that reaches the Earth's atmosphere is absorbed by the surface, where it is then transformed into heat energy.