Fluctuations in the Position of the ITCZ in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Abstract

This chapter illustrates some uses of satellite observations of the Earth's radiation budget in studies of the Earth's climate. Because of their importance to studies of the climate, radiation budget observations from satellites were initiated as early as 1962, only 2 years after the launching of the first weather satellite. The results of these observations are discussed and compared with the results of other satellite observations of the earth's radiation budget. The longwave radiation and planetary albedo are components of the radiation budget that are measured from satellites. The application of satellite radiation observations to such sensitivity studies is discussed. Satellite observations of the radiation budget offer a means of validating model radiation calculations and of diagnosing possible causes of error in the simulations. The application of satellite radiation observations to the validation of a particular climate model of the statistical-dynamical type is described. The annual cycle of radiation budget components as observed from satellites for several climatic regions is explained. Finally, the time series of the global annual average, seasonal maps, and time-latitude sections of albedo, absorbed solar radiation, outgoing longwave radiation, and net radiation is presented. © 1983, Academic Press Inc.