Computation of Incoming Solar Radiation over the Equatorial Pacific

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses findings in regard to cloud distributions over the equatorial Pacific and the development of a method, compatible with actual cloud distributions, for using certain existing formulas to compute incoming solar radiation from meteorological data. U. S. Air Force Uniform Summaries of Surface Weather Observations for 10 central and western equatorial Pacific sites indicate that the very large cirriform cloud contribution to total sky cover, noted in the July 1957–June 1958 Canton Island weather data, is a general characteristic of the cloud distribution over a large part of the western equatorial Pacific. Since most formulas for computing incoming solar radiation depend on a mean total cloud cover entry, a large bias toward thin cirriform cloud could lead to sizeable underestimations of incoming solar radiation and cause significant errors in heat budget calculations for this region. In order to determine a suitable cloud cover term, monthly mean total sky cover, low cloud cover ...