A different approach to studying solar spectral irradiance (SSI) variations, without the need for long-term (multi-year) instrument degradation corrections, is examining the total energy of the irradiance variation during 6-month periods. This duration is selected because a solar active region typically appears suddenly and then takes 5 to 7 months to decay and disperse back into the quiet-Sun ...

In many parts of the world, snowmelt energetics are dominated by solar irradiance. This is particularly the case in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where clear skies dominate the winter and spring. In mountains, solar irradiance at the snow surface is not only affected by solar angles, atmospheric transmittance, and the slope and aspect of immediate topography but also by shadows from surrounding...

[1] The mean surface temperature of the Earth depends on various climate factors with much attention directed toward possible anthropogenic causes. However, one must first determine the stronger effects such as El Niño/La Niña and volcanoes. A weaker effect, which must exist, is solar irradiance. We have determined the solar effect on the temperature from satellites measurements (available sinc...

Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. To assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks, th...

Solar radiation models for predicting the average daily and hourly global radiation, beam radiation and diffuse radiation are reviewed in this paper. Seven models using the Ångström– Prescott equation to predict the average daily global radiation with hours of sunshine are considered. The average daily global radiation for Hong Kong (22.3 N latitude, 114.3 E longitude) is predicted. Estimations...

We model solar spectral irradiance variations under the assumption that they are produced by sunspots and faculae alone. The model is based on three components, i.e. quiet Sun, assumed to be temporally invariant, sunspots and faculae whose temporal variations are mimicked using time series of sunspot areas and Mg II core-to-wing ratios. The detailed flux spectrum for each component is employed....

It has been found from the literature review that the ANFIS-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are very fast and accurate in tracking the MPP at any weather conditions, and they have smaller power losses if trained well. Unfortunately, this is true in simulation, but in practice they do not work very well because they do not take aging of solar cells as well as the effect of d...

Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. To assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks, th...

Characterization of long-term solar ultraviolet (UV) irradiance variations is important for understanding the radiative forcing of Earth’s atmosphere. Extending such a characterization to multidecadal time scales requires the merging of multiple satellite data sets. Currently available irradiance data sets show both absolute offsets and time-dependent differences that vary between spectral rang...