course on radiation and climate change...in climatology, only electromagnetic waves with wavelengths...

Course on radiation and climate change

•  Lecturer: Martin Wild ([email protected]) (CHN L16.2) Will Ball ([email protected]) (CHN P14)

•  Language: english

•  Please everybody register (otherways no course infos, no grades)

•  Copies of lecture slides will be provided

•  Complementary practical work (computer lab, NO D39, 3 sessions), dates to be confirmed.

•  Course Assistants: Laureline Hentgen ([email protected] ) (CHN L11) Christian Zeman ([email protected]) (CHN L16.3)

•  The course takes place also on Friday 11.5. following ascension day (Auffahrt)

•  3 credit points

•  Semester test for credit points (benotete Semsterleistung / graded semester performance):

Date of exam: 1.6.2017, written exam. Exam will cover material presented in lectures/exercises

•  Website:

http://www.iac.ethz.ch/edu/courses/master/modules/radiation-and-climate-change.html

Website for this course

PDFs of slides available for download Further reading material is made available on the website

http://www.iac.ethz.ch/edu/courses/master/modules/radiation-and-climate-change.html

Introduction

Global Mean Energy Balance

Wild et al. 2013 IPCC AR5

Radiation and Climate Change FS 2018 Martin Wild

Radiation and climate change over Earth history

Radiation impacts climate evolution throughout Earth’s history



Why study radiation in the climate system?

•  Radiation provides the energy for all climate processes as well as for the foundation of life on our planet

•  The temporal and spatial variations in the radiation balance are the major determinants of the thermal and hydrological conditions on Earth, and the drivers of the atmospheric general circulation and the global water cycle

•  Anthropogenic interference with the climate system occurs first of all though a perturbation of the radiation balance (e.g., greenhouse effect, air pollution, land use change)

•  Radiation key driver of climate evolution over Earth history

•  Practical application in the area of agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, solar power

Solar power production

Projected Use of Solar Power 21th Century


source: German Advisory Council on Global Change

2000 2100

x 1

018 J

Source: Berner Fachhochschule Burgdorf

Insolation on horizontal and tilted (45°) panels 1992-2011

Measured at Burgdorf (Switzerland)

Tilted 45°South

Horizontal plane

Stability of solar energy source


•  Basic radiation laws and definitions •  Sun-Earth relations •  Radiative transfer trough the atmosphere and greenhouse

effect•  Role of radiation in a hierarchy of climate models•  Radiation and climate change over Earth’s History (faint Sun

paradox, Snowball Earth, Milankovich theory)•  Present day radiation balance of the Earth (observations,

modeling approaches) surface, atmosphere, TOA•  Anthropogenic perturbations of the Earth radiation balance

(greenhouse effect, global dimming)•  Impacts of radiative changes on climate system components

Radiation and climate change: contents



Literature General overview: IPCC Reports, since 1990 (www.ipcc.ch) e.g. IPCC 5th assessment report (2013): Climate Change 2013: the physical science basis, Cambridge University Press.

5th IPCC assessment report (AR5):

Freely available on www.ipcc.ch


Literature State of the art research is found in peer reviewed journals: Journals of major relevance for this course:


Literature State of the art research is found in peer reviewed journals: Journals of major relevance for this course: J. Climate Bullletin of the American Meteorological Society J. Geophys. Res. Geophysical Research Letters ACP (Atmospheric Chemistery and Physics) A selection of relevant articles will be provided on the website


1. Physical basis of radiation - terminoloy and definitions - basic radiation laws

Energy can be transported by electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic waves can be characterized by 3 parameters:

λ ν = c

λ : wavelength (m): distance between individual peaks in the oscillation. ν: frequency, units (s−1): number of oscillations that occur within a fixed (1 sec) period of time. c: speed of light (ms−1), constant in vacuum c = 299′792′458 ms−1. In climatology , sometimes wavenumbers rather than wavelengths are used: wavenumber (= 1/ λ): number of wave crests (or troughs) counted within a fixed length: Unit m-1


Electromagnetic waves

Radiation can be described in terms of electromagnetic waves (classical physics), but also in terms of particles (photons) (quantum physics Einstein 1905) Energy per photon: E(ν)=hν The higher the frequency, the higher the energy of a photon

h=Planck constant, 6.62606957×10−34 J·s

ν = frequency (s-1) Energy per frequency interval dν: E(ν)=N(ν)hνdν

N(ν)=Number of photons per frequency Energy per frequency interval equals the number of photons times the energy per photon In climatology, only electromagnetic waves with wavelengths between about 0.1 µm and 100 µm (uv, visible light and infrared radiation) are relevant.


Particle representation of radiation

Electromagnetic spectrum: classification of the electromagnetic waves according to their wavelengths:

In climatology, only electromagnetic waves with wavelengths between about 0.1 µm and 100 µm (uv, visible light and infrared radiation) are relevant.


Electromagnetic spectrum

Terminologies and definitions


Shortwave versus longwave radiation

Shortwave often known as solar

Longwave often known as thermal / terrestrial/ (far) infrared



Separation according to wavelength

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation

q  UV-C 0.20-0.28 µm (completely absorbed/scattered by O3) q  UV-B 0.28-0.32 µm (genetic damage, dangerous for skin cancer)

q  UV-A 0.32-0.40 µm (skin browning, strengthening of the immune system)

Visible radiation 0.40-0.74 µm

Near Infrared 0.74-4.0 µm

Far Infrared 4.0-100 µm (Longwave)


Source: Sun

Direct radiation Diffuse radiation

Reflected radiation

Global radiation=

sum of direct + diffuse

Separation according to origin shortwave (< 4 µm)




Global, direct and diffuse radiation during a cloud-free day



Direct and diffuse radiation during the course of a year

Site in Scotland Site in South Africa

60% diffuse 25% diffuse


Measurements from Odessa, Ukraine

Global, direct and diffuse radiation over decades


Global

Direct

Diffuse


Source: Earth surface + Atmosphere

Outgoing longwave radiation at TOA: Origin: Earth surface + Atmosphere

Surface downward longwave radiation

Origin: Atmosphere

Surface upward longwave radiation

Origin: Earth surface

Separation according to origin longwave (> 4 µm)



Terminologies and definitions Outgoing longwave radiation at the Top of Atmosphere (TOA)


Quantification of Radiation


Term Unit Description

Radiative energy J Energy Radiative flux W Power, Energy per time (J/s) Irradiance Wm-2 Power per Area Radiative emittance Wm-2 Power per Area

Radiance Wm-2sr-1

Power per Area per solid angle


Irradiance (Bestrahlungsstärke) F

Total amount of radiative energy incident on a unit surface per unit time

Measured in units (Jm-2s-1) or (Wm-2) (Energy per square meter received

per second)

Similarly: Radiative Emittance: Total amount of radiation emitted from a

unit surface per unit time

Irradiance F = total radiative energyarea∗ time

=H

ΔAΔT



Radiance (Strahldichte) I: Radiative flux from a specific direction and area on the celestial sphere

(cf. Irradiance: independent of direction of radiation)


•  Direction defined by the angle θ between the direction to the source of the radiation and the vector normal to the surface

•  If surface is horizontal: θ = Zenith angle

•  Area defined as solid angle ω


Solid angle ω (Raumwinkel)

Apparent area of a radiating element of the celestial sphere

The solid angle is equal to the area of a segment of a unit sphere surface of the unit sphere: 4π => ω = 2π for the half sphere visible above a given surface Unit: steradian sr-1 (dimensionless)



Radiance (Strahldichte) I:

Units Wm-2sr-1

ΔFθ : potential irradiance, if the surface is oriented (with its normal vector)

towards the solid angle element from which the radiation is coming (surface optimally oriented towards the radiation source).


I = potential irradiancesolid angle

=ΔFθΔω

=ΔF

Δω cosθ


From Radiance to Irradiance: Fraction of irradiance ΔF onto a surface coming from a specific solid angle element Δω, from a direction, defined by the angle θ.


ΔF = IΔω cosθ = Fθ cosθ Cosine law

If surface is horizontal: θ = zenith angle

Units Wm-2sr-1 (steradian). ΔFθ : potential irradiance ΔF: energy arriving on the surface in question (irradiance) I : Radiance

Zenith Angle and the cosine law

Zenith angle θ: angle between the vector normal to the horizontal surface and the vector pointing to the radiation source (e.g., sun).


Fθ *A = F *B

with AB= cosθ

⇒ F = FθAB= Fθ cosθ

A

B Potential irradiance Fθ on the surface A equals Irradiance F on the horizontal surface B

Fθ

F θ

θ

Zenith Angle and the cosine law

Zenith angle θ: angle between the vector normal to the horizontal surface and the vector pointing to the radiation source (e.g., sun).


A

B

Fθ Fθ cosθ

Irradiance F on horizontal surface: only vertical component of potential irradiance Fθ counts

Fθ *A = F *B

with AB= cosθ

⇒ F = FθAB= Fθ cosθ θ

Illustration of cosine law


F = Fθ cosθ

Zenith angle Ɵ

Normal angle

Normal angle: angle between the vector normal to the illuminated surface, and the vector pointing to the radiation source (e.g., sun). Zenith angle special case of normal angle with horizontal surface


Normal angle

(Cosine) Irradiance collector collects radiation from a 180°solid angle Pyranometer

Radiance collector collects radiation from a specified solid angle Pyrheliometer

Measuring irradiances and radiances




Measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory Hawaii

Pyrheliometer

Pyranometer with shading disk

Radiation field with radiance distribution I(ϕ, θ) Dependent on: ϕ: Azimuth θ: Zenith angle


Figure 1: Geometry of radiation fields and solid angles

Geometrical relations


Definition Radiance: Fraction of irradiance dF onto a sensor surface dA coming from a specific solid angle element dω = dθ dΦsinθ is equal to

and thus from a given celestial area with a solid angle G and correspondingly from the half sphere above the sensor


dF = I(φ,θ )cosθdω = I(φ,θ )cosθ sinθdφdθ€

I =ΔFθΔω

=ΔF

Δω cosθ

€

FG = I(φ,θ)cosθ sinθdφdθG∫∫

FH = I(φ,θ )cosθ sinθ0

2π

∫0

π /2

∫ dφdθ = cosθ sinθ I(φ,θ )dφ0

2π

∫"

#$

%

&'

0

π /2

∫ dθ

Exercices 1) Calculate the total irradiance FH from the half sphere above a plane

for an isotropic radiance I(ϕ, θ) = I0.

2) What is the solid angle of the full lunar disk with an angular diameter of 0.5°?



course on radiation and climate change...in climatology, only electromagnetic waves with wavelengths...

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