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A simple computer model for terrestrial and solar radiation transfer

Technical Memoranda 26
Vardavas IM and Cannon LM 1989
Supervising Scientist,
ISSN 0810-9532
ISBN 0 644 09133 9

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A simple computer model for terrestrial and solar radiation transfer (PDF - 806 KB)

About this document

A simple radiative-convective atmospheric model is presented for rapidly computing the solar and terrestrial fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and at the ground. The model parameters are measurable meteorological quantities with water vapour playing a key role in the determination of the ratio of infrared flux emitted by a water surface to the absorbed solar flux; this infrared fraction is important in Heat Balance evaporation models. The model and its computer programme can be used to examine, for example, the response of the global mean surface temperature to changes in C0₂, cloud cover and solar-constant.