Solar And Infrared Radiation Measurements

The rather specialized field of solar and infrared radiation measurement has become more and more important in the face of growing demands by the renewable energy and climate change research communities for data that are more accurate and have increased temporal and spatial resolution. Updating decades of acquired knowledge in the field, Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements details the strengths and weaknesses of instruments used to conduct such solar and infrared radiation measurements. Topics covered include: Radiometer design and performance Equipment calibration, installation, operation, and maintenance Data quality assessment Methods to use measured data to estimate irradiance for any surface With a broad range of content that will benefit students and more experienced readers alike, this resource serves as a primer and technical reference that presents the basic terminology and fundamentals for resource assessment. It explores the history of solar radiation instruments and addresses direct normal, global, diffuse, and tilted measurements, as well as the characteristics of instruments used for these measurements. The authors consider methods of assessing the uncertainty of solar measurements and then cover albedo, infrared, net, and spectral irradiance measurements and instrumentation. The book devotes a section to other meteorological instruments, and another to the basics for installing and operating a solar monitoring station. Appendices include information on solar resource assessment modeling and satellite-derived irradiance, along with other useful material. This book’s authors are experts who each have more than 30 years of experience developing and operating multiple measurement stations, working with industry to improve radiometry, and conducting various research projects.

The rather specialized field of solar and infrared radiation measurements has become increasingly important due to the increased demands by the renewable energy and climate change research communities for data with higher accuracy and increased temporal and spatial resolutions. Recent advances in radiometry, measurement systems, and information dissemination also have increased the need for refreshing the literature available for this topic. This book provides the reader with an up-to-date review of the important aspects of solar and infrared radiation measurements: radiometer design; equipment installation, operation, maintenance, and calibration; data quality assessment parameters; and the knowledge necessary to properly interpret and apply the measured data to a variety of topics. Each of the authors has more than 40 years of experience with this subject, primarily as the result of developing and operating multiple measurement stations, working with the industry to improve radiometry, and conducting various research projects. The book’s scope and subject matter have been designed to help a wide audience gain a general understanding of this subject and to serve as a technical reference. A student new to the field will benefit from the review of terminology and the historical perspective for radiometry before addressing more detailed topics in radiometry that we hope will be of interest to the more experienced reader.  Describes the strengths and weaknesses of irradiance instruments  Provides detailed information on how to assess uncertainty in measurements  Offers comprehensive background information needed to understand the use of solar instrumentation  Discusses design concepts for shadowband radiometers, sky imagers, and satellite-based estimates of solar irradiance at the Earth’s surface  Includes chapter-end questions, references, and useful links

In the TIROS II, the satellite's spin provides the scan line of the medium resolution radiometer which is then advanced by the orbital motion. The spatial resolution is about 40 miles square when the earth directly beneath the satellite is viewed. The five channels employ bolometer detectors and filters to limit the spectral responses to five bands: 6 to 6.5 microns, 8 to 12 microns, 0.2 to 6 microns, 8 to 30 microns, and 0.55 to 0.75 microns. These five bands study, respectively: radiation in the water vapor absorption band; day and nighttime cloud cover; albedo thermal radiation; and visual maps for comparison with satellite vidicon pictures. The low resolution non-scanning radiometer measures the earth's blackbody temperature and albedo. This radiometer consists of two thermistors, each in the apex of a reflective cone which provides optical gain. One thermistor is black and responds to both ther al and reflected solar radiation. The second responds to thermal but reflects solar radiation. (Author).

Solar and Terrestrial Radiation: Methods and Measurements basically summarizes instruments used in routine measurements of solar and terrestrial radiation at the earth’s surface. Because of developments in this field, these certain instruments are sufficiently relevant for meteorological and climatological purposes. Although the emphasis of the book is on the radiation instrumentation, basic theory is still covered and discussed for the purpose of understanding basic radiative processes in the atmosphere. The featured instruments in this book show that if used properly, these instruments can eliminate certain deficiencies in climatological data and routine monitoring of the radiative regime of the surface and lower atmosphere. However, the scope of the study is limited in which they cannot be of use in terms of being precise in studies of climatic change, spectral distribution of atmospheric radiation, and other specific meteorological and technological requirements. This book is designed to be of valuable use to meteorologists, climatologists, and physicists. Students, specifically graduate students, can also make use of the book as well.

The rather specialized field of solar and infrared radiation measurement has become more and more important in the face of growing demands by the renewable energy and climate change research communities for data that are more accurate and have increased temporal and spatial resolution. Updating decades of acquired knowledge in the field, Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements details the strengths and weaknesses of instruments used to conduct such solar and infrared radiation measurements. Topics covered include: Radiometer design and performance Equipment calibration, installation, operation, and maintenance Data quality assessment Methods to use measured data to estimate irradiance for any surface With a broad range of content that will benefit students and more experienced readers alike, this resource serves as a primer and technical reference that presents the basic terminology and fundamentals for resource assessment. It explores the history of solar radiation instruments and addresses direct normal, global, diffuse, and tilted measurements, as well as the characteristics of instruments used for these measurements. The authors consider methods of assessing the uncertainty of solar measurements and then cover albedo, infrared, net, and spectral irradiance measurements and instrumentation. The book devotes a section to other meteorological instruments, and another to the basics for installing and operating a solar monitoring station. Appendices include information on solar resource assessment modeling and satellite-derived irradiance, along with other useful material. This book’s authors are experts who each have more than 30 years of experience developing and operating multiple measurement stations, working with industry to improve radiometry, and conducting various research projects.