Observed Patterns of Surface Solar Irradiance under Cloudy and Clear-sky Conditions

TL;DR

This study investigates high-resolution spatial and spectral patterns of surface solar irradiance under various cloud conditions using new observational data, revealing distinct mechanisms and scales of variability relevant for climate and energy applications.

Contribution

It provides the first high-resolution observational dataset of irradiance variability under different cloud types, highlighting mechanisms and scales of variability not captured by existing models.

Findings

Clouds cause large spatiotemporal irradiance variability at scales from 50 m to 30 km.

Spectral irradiance shows blue enrichment in shadows and red peaks near cloud edges.

Clear-sky water vapor absorption varies significantly at minute scales.

Abstract

Surface solar irradiance varies on scales as small as seconds or meters due to scattering and absorption by the atmosphere. Clouds are the main driver of this variability, but moisture structures in the atmospheric boundary layer and aerosols have an influence too, and depend on wavelength. The highly variable nature of solar irradiance is not resolved by most atmospheric models, yet it affects most notably the land-atmosphere coupling, which in turn can change the cloud field, and the quality of solar energy forecasting. Spatially and spectrally resolved observational datasets of solar irradiance at such high resolution are rare, but they are required for characterising observed variability, understanding the mechanisms, and developing fast models capable of accurately resolving this variability. In 2021, we deployed a spatial network of low-cost radiometers at the FESSTVaL (Germany) and LIAISE (Spain) field campaigns, specifically to gather data on cloud-driven surface patterns of irradiance, including spectral effects, with the aim to address this gap in observations and understanding. We find in case studies of cumulus, altocumulus, and cirrus clouds that these clouds generate large spatiotemporal variability in irradiance, but through different mechanisms and at difference spatial scales, ranging from 50 m to 30 km. Spectral irradiance in the visible range varies at similar spatial scales, with significant blue enrichment in cloud shadows, most strongly for cumulus, and red enrichment in irradiance peaks, particularly in the case of semi-transparent clouds or near cumulus cloud edges. Under clear-sky conditions, solar irradiance varies significantly in water vapour absorption bands at the minute scale, due to local and regional variability in atmospheric moisture.