Articles | Volume 25, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4419-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4419-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 23 Apr 2025
| 23 Apr 2025
Mechanisms of surface solar irradiance variability under broken clouds
Meteorology and Air Quality Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Chiel van Heerwaarden
Meteorology and Air Quality Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Short summary
Sunlight varies often and quickly under broken cloud cover, and every cloud field creates a unique pattern of sunlight on the surface below. These variations affect many processes in the Earth system, from photosynthesis and chemistry to cloud formation itself. The exact way in which cloud particles interact with sunlight is complex and expensive to calculate. We demonstrate a simplified framework which explains how sunlight changes for potentially any cloud field.
Sunlight varies often and quickly under broken cloud cover, and every cloud field creates a...
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