File:Oblique rays 04 Pengo.svg

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Oblique_rays_04_Pengo.svg‎ (SVG file, nominally 800 × 600 pixels, file size: 25 KB)

This version shows a slight Spring or Autumn axial tilt to the Earth.


Contents

[edit] Caption

Why the polar regions are colder: Effect of the Earth's shape and atmosphere on incoming solar radiation.

Compared to equatorial regions (b), incoming solar radiation of the polar regions (a) is less intense for two reasons:

  1. the solar radiation arrives at an oblique angle nearer the poles, so that the energy spreads over a larger surface area, lessening its intensity.
  2. The radiation travels a longer distance through the atmosphere, which absorbs, scatters and reflects the solar radiation.

Tropical areas (i.e. lower latitudes, nearer the equator) receive solar radiation which is closer to vertical.

The angle of incidence of the rays, combined with the albedo of the surface has also a strong influence on the amount of energy being absorbed (or reflected) at the surface. In the ice-covered polar zones, almost all direct energy from the sun is reflected because it is white and the angle is small. In short, the angle of incidence affects the heating of the surface in 3 different ways: length of atmospheric track, variable flux and variable reflection

For simplicity, the diagram ignores the axial tilt of the Earth, which causes each pole to slip into darkness for around 6 months of the year, and means the equator's ground is generally not perpendicular with the sun's light.

[edit] About

  • Created in Inkscape (v0.45)

Based on diagrams in:

[edit] Other versions

  • Original

  • With land mass

  • Northern Winter axial tilt

  • Slight Spring or Autumn tilt (my preferred version)

[edit] See also

[edit] Licensing

Photo credit: Peter Halasz. (User:Pengo)


I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses:
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attribution share alike		 This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
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  • attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
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For the Creative Commons license, please give attribution to:

  • Peter Halasz
  • and/or, link to this image page: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oblique_rays_04_Pengo.svg

Although not a requirement of the license, if you use this image in print or media other than the web, I would appreciate it if you let me know. Please contact me if you require alternate licensing.

[edit] derivative works

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current23:41, 29 June 2007Thumbnail for version as of 23:41, 29 June 2007800 × 600 (25 KB)Pengo ( See Oblique rays 02 Pengo.svg for details. {{Pengo2}})
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