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A Stokesian model of areal clear‐sky direct radiation for mountainous terrain
Author(s) -
Ranzi Roberto,
Rosso Renzo
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1029/93gl03307
Subject(s) - terrain , sky , geology , structural basin , scale (ratio) , remote sensing , radiation , radiative transfer , meteorology , geomorphology , physics , geography , cartography , quantum mechanics
The global direct flux of clear‐sky incoming solar radiation over a given portion of terrain (e.g., the surface of a drainage basin) is modeled by using the Stokes' formula. Accordingly, line integration is substituted for surface integration to describe topographic variability. This allows for separating the effects of solar radiation geometry and terrain configuration. Application to a small alpine basin shows this model to provide accurate results also when a major portion of the terrain is in shadow. It can be applied to estimate radiative fluxes in hydrological models at the scale of small catchments and at the GCM scale when topography is complex.