Clouds' effect on sunlight energy at Earth's surface depends on the wavelength of light
Monday, May 9, 2011 - 10:01
in Astronomy & Space
Bouncing around from cloud to cloud, and down to Earth, sunlight's warmth is both enhanced and blocked by clouds. Atmospheric scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that clouds' overall effect on the amount of sunlight available to warm the earth depends on the wavelength of sunlight being measured. Their unexpected findings show that the sunlight scattered by clouds is an important component of cloud contributions to Earth's energy balance.