NovaLynx Corporation
Weather Monitoring Instruments and Systems
Solar Radiation Links
 Campbell-Stokes |
 UV Radiometer |
 Star Pyranometer |
 Pyrradiometer |
 Shadow Band |
Albedo - Wikipedia article defines the term and offers examples of albedo effects.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program - ARM is the largest global change research program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. ARM scientists focus on obtaining field measurements and developing models to better understand the processes that control solar and thermal infrared radiative transfer in the atmosphere (especially in clouds) and at the earth's surface.
Campbell-Stokes Duration of Sunlight Recorder - Los Angeles Pierce College describes how the instrument works and provides examples of the exposed record cards.
Glossary of Solar Radiation Resource Terms - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Glossary of Solar Radiation Resource Terms - University of Oregon Radiation Monitoring Laboratory started with the glossary from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, edited and reformatted it, and added their own specialized terms.
How Shiny Is L.A.? - Cities reflect away some solar radiation and absorb the rest of it, creating higher temperatures and more smog. Thus, an important factor in determining the intensity of urban heat islands is the albedo -or reflectivity- of urban areas. There are, however, few large-scale measurements of albedo. Recent research in "Building Energy Measurement and Performance Analysis" by Haider Taha measured surface albedo of California's South Coast Air Basin.
Integrating Solarimeter - The NOAA Photo Library offers this photograph of an instrument that measures energy developed from solar radiation based on the absorption of heat by a black body. The principle was first developed by the Italian priest, Father Angelo Bellani. He invented the actinometric method which is based on physical and chemical techniques.
NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory GMD-Radiation Group - The group's activities involve empirical and theoretical research of the Earth's surface radiation budget. The group specializes in the investigation of climatically significant variations in long-term radiation and meteorological measurements made primarily at a globally diverse network of surface sites.
Online Meteorology Guide: Light & Optics - University of Illinois
Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory - University of Oregon
Solar Radiation Resource Information - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Stanford Solar Center - Targeted at 4th-12th grade students and science teachers, the site provides inquiry-based activities and a broad range of information relating to the sun. Solar art, folklore, music, literature, and archaeoastronomy complement the scientific information and offer intriguing multidisciplinary "hooks" into solar study.
Stratosphere: UV Index - Current UV Index forecast updated daily, archive of UV Index bulletins from June 1994, and other UV information from the Climate Prediction Center.
The Sun - The Nine Planets Tour of the Solar System
US Solar Resource Maps - These maps provide monthly average daily total solar resource information on grid cells. The insolation values represent the resource available to a flat plate collector, such as a photovoltaic panel, oriented due south at an angle from horizontal to equal to the latitude of the collector location. This is typical practice for PV system installation, although other orientations are also used.
USDA UV-B Monitoring and Research Program - The program was initiated in 1992, through a grant to Colorado State University, to provide information on the geographical distribution and temporal trends of UVB (ultraviolet -B) radiation in the United States. This information is critical to the assessment of the potential impacts of increasing ultraviolet radiation levels on agricultural crops and forests.
UV Index Forecasting Practices around the World - Craig S. Long, NOAA/NCEP
UV-Net Ultraviolet Monitoring Program - The EPA operates and maintains a network of Brewer spectrophotometers throughout the United States which measure full-sky spectrally resolved solar radiation in the UV-B and UV-A bands. Irradiance and total column ozone concentrations are derived from the data. The data are analyzed and stored in a database for dissemination to government and non-government scientists and interested parties. Fourteen of the UV monitoring sites are located in National Parks and are operated by National Park Service employees as part of the Park Research and Intensive Monitoring of Ecosystems Network.
World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC) is one of six world data centers which are part of the Global Atmosphere Watch program of the World Meteorological Organization.
