Review of United States Weather Bureau Solar Radiation Investigations

Abstract

25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85which they are based is not stated. For the purpose of meteorological charts, the inaccuracy of considering the earth as a sphere is unimportant, and the diflerences between different ellipsoids are negligible; but if a n ellipsoid be used, presumably it should be the International Ellipsoid, on which table 1 has been computed. 0.924 .927 .93 .958 10 Readers desiring furthar information regarding the theory, construction, and propertiea of the projections are referred to the following: Oscar 9. Adams. A study of map proJections In general, U. S. C. & 0. S. Spec. P u b . 60, Washington. 1919. Charlas H. De& and Oscar 8. Adams. Elements of map pro. Jection U. S. C. & Q. S. Spec. Pub 88 Washington 1934. Tabias of the International Ellipsbid)are contained'in U. 9. C. & 0. S. Spec. Pub. doo. REVIEW OF UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU SOLAR RADIATION INVESTIGATIONS By IRVING F. HAND [Weather Bureau, Washington. D. C., June 1937lThe purpose of this paper is to present a summary to date of the methods employed and the results obtained in the solar radiation investigations conducted by the Weather Bureau. Many data are here published for the first time, while several tables and charts that have previously appeared in the MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW are revised and brought up to date. Numerous references to the literature are included, to enable readers who so desire to readily locate further details (a useful general bibliography of some of the earlier literature is given by Himbnll,

Albedo Over Wind-Roughened Water

“…Theoretical relationships between n and the solar-elevation angle P have been worked out for ideal atmospheres on the basis of scattering by air molecules (Linke, 1942;King, 1913). Measurements of n as a function of P for unclouded skies have been reported by Kimball (1919;1924), Hand (1937) a~d Linke (1942). Fritz (1951) reports Kimball's (1919) data as being representative.…”

Minimum evaporation from water surfaces

“…But by using the WB pans at Ft. Collins and liacoln (not in the pan-to-lake coefficient manner, but merely for the purpose of reducing the liacoln radiation to the substantially lower Ft. Collins value), a highly satisfactory result was ob tained. If other records had been available, even this use of the WB pan could probably have been voided [HAND, 1937;ROHWER, 1931].…”

“…Until reliable measurements of radiation at Cuyamaca become available, there is no way of estimating the evaporation from that lake that would be any better than a rough guess as to what the radiation might be. Nevertheless, such a guess, if made intelligently, may not be as far wrong as might at first appear, because the radiation data [HAND, 1937], show a degree of unformity that must be gratifying to anyone confronted by the practical need for some kind of an estimate of evap oration. This uniformity, in the light of the facts embodied in (5), and the fairly close approxima tions underlying (8), no doubt accounts for the samll variation among the lakes reported by Young…”

Climatology since the year 1800

“…Pyrheliometers suitable for rcetine use are a technical achievement of the present century. Measurements of incident radiate from Sun and sky at an increasing number of stations have been accumulating for three decays [HAND, 1937]. KIMBALL [1928] has attempted, from the data of measurement and observed DEW iness, to map the distribution of insolation over the entire Earth at critical dates of the year.…”