Observational studies of shortwave cloud optical thickness, τc, play an important role in determining how clouds affect climate. Accordingly, considerable effort has been, and continues to be expended to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of τc over the globe. This effort involves satellite and ground-based measurements that infer τc from measurements of the reflection or transm...

Cloud properties and the Earth’s radiation budget are defined as essential climate variables by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The cloud albedo is a measure for the portion of solar radiation reflected back to space by clouds. This information is essential for the analysis and interpretation of the Earth’s radiation budget and the solar surface irradiance. We present and discuss a ...

In arid and semiarid regions most of the solar radiation penetrates through the canopy and reaches the ground, and hence the turbulent exchange coefficient under canopy Cs becomes important. The use of a constant Cs that is only appropriate for thick canopies is found to be primarily responsible for the excessive warm bias of around 10 K in monthly mean ground temperature over these regions in ...

The hydroxyl radical (OH) plays an important role in middle atmospheric photochemistry, particularly in ozone (O(3)) chemistry. Because it is mainly produced through photolysis and has a short chemical lifetime, OH is expected to show rapid responses to solar forcing [e.g., the 11-y solar cycle (SC)], resulting in variabilities in related middle atmospheric O(3) chemistry. Here, we present an e...

Numerous studies have developed algorithms for estimating the net radiation by satellite remote sensing data obtained under clear sky conditions using polar orbiting meteorological satellite. However, estimating net radiation under cloudy sky conditions using geostationary meteorological satellites with remote sensing sensors remains a significant challenge. In this paper, we developed algorith...

Recently, the use of hybrid systems using multiple heat sources in buildings to ensure a stable energy supply and improve the system performance has gained attention. Among them, a heat pump system using both solar and ground heat was developed and various system configurations have been introduced. However, establishing a suitable design method for the solar-assisted ground heat pump (SAGHP) s...

since the energy consumption has become one of the crisis of modern buildings, modeling the iranian past architecture patterns could be helpful. the shopping streets as one of the main sectors consuming energy locate near the open spaces it seems, therefore, they need more thermal comfort. however, using passive techniques, the iranian traditional bazaars architecture solved the problems regard...

Broken cloud fields create mosaic radiative landscapes with interchanging cloud-shaded and sunlit areas. While clouds attenuate solar radiation incident on cloud-shaded areas, sunlit ground surfaces may actually receive more irradiance than under a clear sky due to light scattering and reflection from neighboring clouds. In this paper, we studied these two opposite but closely related aspects o...

We report the first empirical data describing the interactive effects of simultaneous changes in irradiance and convection on energy expenditure by live mammals. Whole-animal rates of solar heat gain and convective heat loss were measured for representatives of two ground squirrel species, Spermophilus lateralis and Spermophilus saturatus, that contrast in coloration. Radiative heat gain was qu...

A solar 3D urban model was developed for the calculation and visualisation of the solar energy potential of buildings, integrating the potential of roofs with that of facades. To assess this potential, a digital surface model (DSM) of the urban region was built from LiDAR data and a solar radiation model based on climatic observations was applied. A shadow algorithm was developed in order to ca...