Lab: The Earth's Radiation Budget, Part II.
Summary / Purpose
Last week you explored the geographical variations of Earth's albedo, reflected solar radiation (short wave radiation) and Earth radiation (long wavelength radiation) received by satellites from cloud free areas of the Earth's surface. The patterns you observed were controlled by the curvature of the earth, variations in seasonal radiation received from the sun and varying properties of the Earth's surface. This week we will explore the effect of clouds on these patterns. Accordingly the data sets you will first look at this week will be that under the category: total (this link will open a new window with these data).
We will want to compare some of the cloud free data sets from last week's lab with the total datasets used this week (activate this link for comparison). These comparisons, which we recommend you do when looking at the Albedo data sets, will give you a clear idea of what reflectivity is caused by clouds and what is caused by Earth surface properties such as ice and snow. As you look at these data sets note what areas of the earth clouds persistently cover, and what areas are generally cloud free. The reasons for these patterns will become clear as the course moves on.