Peters, T. (2014): <b>Radiation and Heat in the Tropics</b>. In: Michael Koehl, Laszlo Pancel (eds.): <i>Tropical Forestry Handbook</i> ( ), Springer, Heidelberg.
Resource Description
Title:
Radiation and Heat in the Tropics
FOR816dw ID:
1392
Publication Date:
2014-11-29
License and Usage Rights:
PAK 823-825 data user agreement. (www.tropicalmountainforest.org/dataagreementp3.do)
Within this chapter different aspects of radiation and heat are discussed for the tropics. On a global scale the amount of annual solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface is determined by atmospheric and astronomical factors and the average energy budget of the Earth could be explained by the global radiation budget. Within the tropics the net radiation varies clearly across the different climatic regions. In the humid tropics the amount of net radiation shows an almost uniform annual pattern with two maxima per annum. In contrast to this, the horizontal course of the isopleths in a radiation isopleths diagram for the marginal tropics still indicates a marked diurnal cycle. At the Earth's surface, the total incoming<br/>
radiation is transformed into different heat fluxes which are either directed towards the ground or to the atmosphere. In the tropical rainforests, only 10 % of the incoming radiation reaches the ground, and only a weak flow of sensible and latent heat exists from the forest canopy towards the forest ground and vice versa.
Keywords:
| Tropics - Radiation and Heat - Global Radiation Budget - Heat Budget - Sensible and Latent Heat |
