How do clouds affect solar radiation?

Low, thick clouds primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the surface of the Earth. High, thin clouds primarily transmit incoming solar radiation; at the same time, they trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation emitted by the Earth and radiate it back downward, thereby warming the surface of the Earth.

How do clouds impact the Earth’s radiation budget?

Clouds have a significant effect on the Earth’s radiation balance. High, thin cirrus clouds help warm Earth’s surface by allowing sunlight to pass through, but then trapping heat emitted by the surface. Low, thick cumulus clouds help cool the surface by reflecting incoming sunlight back into space.

How does cloud cover affect how much infrared light is reflected back to space?

Clouds cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space, much as they chill a summer’s day at the beach. Clouds warm the Earth by absorbing infrared radiation emitted from the surface and reradiating it back down. The process traps heat like a blanket and slows the rate at which the surface can cool.

How do clouds affect the Earth’s albedo?

Clouds regulate the amount of solar radiation absorbed by a planet and its solar surface irradiance. Generally, increased cloud cover correlates to a higher albedo and a lower absorption of solar energy. Thin clouds (such as cirrus) tend to transmit more solar radiation and, therefore, have a low albedo.

Do clouds absorb visible radiation?

Although the two have similar effects on the rate of cooling of the ground surface, clouds are not transparent to visible radiation from the sun, like the greenhouse gases. The infrared radiation energy absorbed by the greenhouse gases and clouds heats the atmosphere.

Do clouds increase or decrease the greenhouse effect on Earth?

Clouds play an important role in both warming and cooling our planet. Clouds give us a cooler climate on Earth than we would enjoy without clouds. But it’s a bit complicated: Clouds can both cool down and warm up the temperatures on Earth. Clouds can block light and heat from the Sun, making Earth’s temperature cooler.

How would a change in cloud cover affect the heat balance of the earth?

A cloudless Earth would absorb nearly 20 percent more heat from the sun than the present Earth does. To be in radiation balance Earth would have to be warmer by about 12°C (22°F). Thus, clouds can cool the surface by reflecting sunlight back into space, much as they chill a summer’s day at the beach.

Do clouds emit radiation?

Cloud bottoms emit a continuous spectrum of infrared radiation downward and cloud tops emit a continuous spectrum of infrared radiation upward. Because of this, clouds contribute to the greenhouse effect by emitting infrared radiation that warms the surface. This is very noticeable at night.

How much solar radiation Do clouds reflect?

On average, clouds reflect 20\% of the incoming solar radiation, but the actual amount of individual clouds can vary. For example, thin clouds have an albedo of 30 to 50\%, while thick clouds can have an albedo of up to 90\%. So, on average, only 70\% of the solar radiation reaches the sea surface.

How do clouds block the outgoing longwave radiation?

The OLR balance is affected by clouds and dust in the atmosphere. Clouds tend to block penetration of long-wave radiation through the cloud and increases cloud albedo, causing a lower flux of long-wave radiation into the atmosphere.

How does cloud cover and albedo effect temperature?

The cloud albedo effect begins with global temperature increasing. Since less solar energy is able to warm the surface, this can contribute to cooler temperatures or at least offsets some of the warming from the increase of water vapor in the air. Eventually, a new equilibrium is achieved.