On Solar Energy Disposition:A Perspective from Observation and Modeling

Abstract
Solar energy disposition (SED) concerns the amount of solar radiation reflected to space, absorbed in the atmosphere, and absorbed at the surface. The state of knowledge on SED is examined by comparing eight datasets from surface and satellite observation and modeling by general circulation models. The discrepancies among these contemporary estimates of SED are so large that wisdom on conventional SED is wanting. Thanks to satellite observations, the earth's radiation budget (ERB) at the top of the atmosphere is reasonably well known. Current GCMs manage to reproduce a reasonable global and annual mean ERB, but often fail to simulate the variations in ERB associated with certain cloud regimes such as tropical convection and storm tracks. In comparison to ERB, knowledge of the surface radiation budget (SRB) and the atmospheric radiation budget (ARB) is still rather poor, owing to the inherent problems in both in situ observations and remote sensing. The major shortcoming of in situ observations li... Abstract Solar energy disposition (SED) concerns the amount of solar radiation reflected to space, absorbed in the atmosphere, and absorbed at the surface. The state of knowledge on SED is examined by comparing eight datasets from surface and satellite observation and modeling by general circulation models. The discrepancies among these contemporary estimates of SED are so large that wisdom on conventional SED is wanting. Thanks to satellite observations, the earth's radiation budget (ERB) at the top of the atmosphere is reasonably well known. Current GCMs manage to reproduce a reasonable global and annual mean ERB, but often fail to simulate the variations in ERB associated with certain cloud regimes such as tropical convection and storm tracks. In comparison to ERB, knowledge of the surface radiation budget (SRB) and the atmospheric radiation budget (ARB) is still rather poor, owing to the inherent problems in both in situ observations and remote sensing. The major shortcoming of in situ observations li...