An all-slope 24-hour summer energy budget regime along a climatic-latitudinal transect

Abstract

A physically-based solar radiation transmission model and a slope energy budget model were available which used climatic observations, averaged over 10-deg north-south latitude bands. This made possible the systematic examination of the diurnally changing energy budget components of net radiation, conduction, sensible, and latent heat flux occurring at all slope angles (0 to 90 deg) and slope directions (south-, west-, and north-facing). The present analysis utilized two contrasting landscapes along a latitudinal transect of the east coast of the Americas (northern hemisphere). Among the results, the maximum net radiation for all slope angles and directions occurred at noon on a 40-deg, south-facing slope for latitude 60. Generally, latent and sensible heat fluxes were similar in trend and magnitude between latitudes 0 and 35. Poleward, sensible heat flux increased with advancing latitude at the expense of latent heat flux. A great diversity in net radiation, sensible, and latent heat flux was obtained between different slopes and their orientation at a paniculate latitude. In addition to hourly rates of the energy budget components, daily positive sums of net radiation, sensible, and latent heat flux were examined. It is assumed that the portrayed patterns are general enough to add to our increasing understanding of the contrasts possible in a real-world north-south transect.