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The topographic distribution of annual incoming solar radiation in the Rio Grande River Basin
Author(s) -
Dubayah R.,
van Katwijk V.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/92gl02284
Subject(s) - pyranometer , structural basin , digital elevation model , elevation (ballistics) , drainage basin , environmental science , satellite , remote sensing , geology , radiation , geography , geomorphology , cartography , mathematics , physics , geometry , quantum mechanics , aerospace engineering , engineering
We model the annual incoming solar radiation topoclimatology for the Rio Grande River basin in Colorado, U.S.A. Hourly pyranometer measurements are combined with satellite reflectance data and 30 m digital elevation models within a topographic solar radiation algorithm. Our results show that there is large spatial variability within the basin, even at an annual integration length, but the annual, basin‐Wide mean is close to that measured by the pyranometers. The variance within 16 km 2 and 100 km 2 regions is a linear function of the average slope in the region, suggesting a possible parameterization for sub‐grid cell variability.