Abstract
The discussion of solar insolation in Chap. 12 stated that the solar constant is about 1,360 W/m2, but that is at the top of the atmosphere. As we discuss in this chapter, some of that is reflected back into space by clouds and dust before it reaches the surface, some is scattered to make the blue sky, and some is absorbed. When the Sun is directly overhead, the amount of electromagnetic energy reaching the Earth’s surface on a clear cloudless day is a little more than 1,000 W/m2.
We’d never have got the chance to go outside and look at the Earth
if it hadn’t been for space exploration and NASA.
James Lovelock
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Hay, W.W. (2021). Albedo. In: Experimenting on a Small Planet. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76339-8_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76339-8_16
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