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Insolation

Insolation refers to the solar energy received by the Earth, with only 51% of the sun's radiation reaching the surface. Temperature distribution is influenced by factors such as latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, slope of the land, and winds and ocean currents. The atmosphere plays a crucial role in regulating temperature by absorbing terrestrial radiation and maintaining a heat balance.

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12 views

Insolation

Insolation refers to the solar energy received by the Earth, with only 51% of the sun's radiation reaching the surface. Temperature distribution is influenced by factors such as latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, slope of the land, and winds and ocean currents. The atmosphere plays a crucial role in regulating temperature by absorbing terrestrial radiation and maintaining a heat balance.

Uploaded by

anjanathms82
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Insolation

 the sun continues to radiate heat and light energy in all direction not as solar
radiation
 this involves energy transmission storage and transport energy transmission is in the
form of radiation whereas energy transport and storage occur in the form of heat
types of radiation
 the sun’s radiation is made-up of three parts white light the ones we see infrared
radiation and ultraviolet radiation the sun also emits atomic particles called solar
winds which are charged electrons
insolation
 the amount of solar energy received by the earth is called insulation
 the sun’s energy reaches the earth as short waves
 out of the total 100% solar energy only 51% reaches the earth
terrestrial radiation
 the heat radiated by the earth in the form of long waves is called terrestrial radiation
there exists a state of equilibrium on earth between incoming insulation and are
there outgoing terrestrial radiation from the earth known as heat balance
when both incoming radiation and outgoing radiation are balanced it is called heat
budget
the heat radiated by the Earth’s surface warms the layers of air above it directly this is
called conduction
the transfer of heat by circulatory movement is called convection
 sea breeze is caused by convectional current in the atmosphere
how is the balance achieved?
 the atmosphere absorbs 34 units of earth’s radiation but it absorbs only 14 units of
sun’s incoming radiation thus the atmosphere is heated more by terrestrial radiation
given out by the earth than by the incoming installation from the sun the
atmosphere act like a blanket.
 during the day the atmosphere acts like a greenhouse and keep the surface of the
earth warm by preventing the terrestrial radiation from escaping into space
 during the day the atmosphere absorbs 14% of insulation and regulates the
temperature of the earth thus it prevents the earth from becoming too hot during the
day to call during the night.

Factors affecting the distribution of temperature


1. Latitude
 temperature depends on the latitude of a place
 temperature decreases with the increase in latitude
 Sun’s rays strike the earth at varying angles of incidence owing to the spherical
shape of the earth and its inclination on its axis
 oblique or slanting rays not only travel a longer distance but also heat a larger area
thus they have less heating power
 the higher the latitude colder is the place
 the earth is divided into 5 temperature zones these are the torrid zone between the
Tropic of cancer and Capricorn the north temperate zone South temperate zone and
the two frigid zone
 the sun’s rays which fall over the torrid zone travel shorter distance and heat up a
smaller surface area leading to higher temperature
 beyond the torrid zone sun rays travel longer distance
 the sun’s rays fall in slanting position and heat up a larger area
 beyond the torrid zone the temperature goes on falling.

2. Altitude
 The height of a place above the mean sea level is known as altitude
 higher the altitude the lower the temperature
 air is cooler at higher altitude than on the earth surface
 the main reason for that is the atmosphere is heated from below more by terrestrial
radiation than by incoming solar
 air on the surface of the earth is denser and contains more carbon dioxide water
vapor and other gases hence its heat absorption capacity is more in the lower layers
than the upper layers where its density is less
 the rate of decrease of temperature with height is about 6°C per kilometer
above the sea level is known as normal lapse rate
 this means that on climbing everyone1 66 metre there is a fall of 1°C in temperature
 this explains why the school at the top of a mountain and it is more in summer than in
winter

3. distance from the sea


what was mobile and the warm water mixes easily with the cold water
because of these reasons the water is neither heated nor cooled quickly
however the sun’s rays heat a piece of land more rapidly because unlike
water the heat obtained by the area remains confined to that area and does
not mix with other areas hence the land gets heated or cooled more quickly
than the water.

Sea breeze
 During the day the hot air above the land rises up and creates a low
pressure area over the land
 the air about the sea is cool cooler during this time
 when the air blows towards the low pressure area over the land it
lowers the temperature of the air on the land
 cool breezes that blows over the earth from the surrounding
sea is known as sea breeze

land breeze
 the breeze that blows from land to sea in the night is known as
land breeze
 during the night the opposite of sea breeze happens because land
surface gets cooled more quickly than the ocean surface and land
breezes are caused
 the interchange of breeze maintains the heat balance the areas
close to the sea have a lower daily and annual ranges of temperature
and enjoy a moderate climate than the seas lying in the interior
 during the night the opposite of this happens because land surface
gets cooled more quickly than the ocean surface and land greases
are cost

4. slope of the land


 An area with a steep slope experiences a more rapid change in temperature than
a gentler one
 Temperature may be lower in the valley than higher up in the slopes
 it happens on calm cold winter nights when the sky is clear and the air is very dry
 due to these conditions the heat from the earth surface escapes rapidly back into
space
 the cold is further increased by sinking of cold air
 in the in the in this way there is a version in the vertical distribution of
temperature in this case the temperature decreases down in the valleys this is
known as the inversion of temperature

5. Winds and ocean currents


 Warm currents move from Equatorial to polar latitude
 currents which flow from higher polar latitude to lower latitudes in Equatorial
regions carry cool water to warm regions
 in this way warm currents along the coast with the coastal areas warmer and cold
currents make them cooler than usual

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