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A note on estimating the direct and diffuse components of global radiation

Über die Schätzung der direkten und der diffusen Komponenten der Globalstrahlung

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Summary

Empirical methods for estimating the direct and diffuse components of known global radiation are examined in detail and are tested with data from Australia, Papua New Guinea, India, southern Africa and the Stanley Islands. Significant differences are observed between relations deduced in this study and those reported by Liu and Jordan as deduced from temperate zone data in the northern hemisphere.

A simple model for atmospheric attenuation has been developed which produces a common basis for the two empirical estimation methods. In this model diffuse radiation is related to the depletion of the direct beam in the atmosphere by a forward scattering function coefficient (K), whose value for different regions, climates and important cloud categories is discussed. Theoretical curves are generated relating diffuse and direct radiation to total global radiation for several values of the coefficientK.

Zusammenfassung

Es werden empirische Methoden der Schätzung der direkten und der diffusen Komponenten einer bekannten Globalstrahlung ausführlich geprüft und mit Beobachtungsdaten aus Australien, Papua, Neu Guinea, Indien, Südafrika und Stanley-Inseln verglichen. Daraus ergeben sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den in dieser Untersuchung abgeleiteten Beziehungen und den von Liu und Jordan aus Beobachtungen in der gemäßigten Zone der nördlichen Hemisphäre abgeleiteten Relationen.

Es wurde ein einfaches Modell für die atmosphärische Schwächung entwickelt, das eine gute Grundlage für zwei empirische Schätzungsmethoden liefert. In diesem Modell wird die diffuse Strahlung auf die Schwächung des direkten Strahles in der Atmosphäre durch einen VorwärtsstreuungsfunktionskoeffizientenK bezogen, dessen Wert für verschiedene Regionen, Klimate und maßgebende Wolkenkategorien diskutiert wird. Schließlich werden theoretische Kurven für die Beziehung der diffusen und der direkten Strahlung zur gesamten Globalstrahlung für einige Werte des KoeffizientenK angegeben.

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Author notes

  1. J. D. Kalma &  P. M. Fleming

    Present address: Division of Land Research, Common wealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, P. O. Box 1666, 2601, Canberra, A. C. T., Australia

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    1. J. D. Kalma
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    2. P. M. Fleming
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    Kalma, J.D., Fleming, P.M. A note on estimating the direct and diffuse components of global radiation. Arch. Met. Geoph. Biokl. B. 20, 191–205 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02243175

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02243175

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