Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (9): 1480-1490.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.09.05

• Weather and Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis of surface solar radiation under different cloud conditions in Xinjiang and the surrounding “Belt and Road” regions

SUN Linlin1(), LIU Qiong1, HUANG Guan2, CHEN Yonghang1(), WEI Xin1, GUO Yulin3, ZHANG Taixi3, GAO Tianyi1, XU Yunhong1   

  1. 1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
    2. School of Tourism, Research Institute of Human Geography, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an 710128, Shaanxi, China
    3. Climate Center of Xinjiang Meteorological Bureau, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-04-11 Revised:2024-06-26 Online:2024-09-15 Published:2024-09-25
  • Contact: CHEN Yonghang E-mail:qxsunll@163.com;yonghangchen@dhu.edu.cn

Abstract:

The spatial-temporal changes in surface solar radiation from 2002 to 2022 in Xinjiang and the surrounding “Belt and Road” regions under cloudless and cloudy conditions were compared using the CERES Aqua FM3 Edition4A SSF data set. Under both cloud conditions, the annual mean surface solar radiation was highest in the southern Xinjiang, Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and central and northern Pakistan. The maximum irradiance under cloudless and cloudy conditions was 1029 W·m-2 and 789 W·m-2, respectively. The regions of lowest solar irradiance, with the lowest values being 117 W·m-2 under cloudless and 314 W·m-2 under cloudy conditions, are primarily located in Tianshan Mountains, northern Pakistan, and northern Tajikistan. These figures indicate that the variation in solar radiation is relatively smaller under cloudy conditions. The average annual solar radiation in the study area for cloudless and cloudy conditions increased at the rate of 0.36 W·m-2 and 0.39 W·m-2 from 2002 to 2022, respectively. From 2003 to 2022, the highest values of annual average irradiance under cloudless and cloudy conditions occurred in 2005 (759.32 W·m-2) and 2016 (599.70 W·m-2), respectively. The difference in solar radiation between the nine ground stations under cloud conditions (excluding Turpan and Altai stations) ranged from 50 to 150 W·m-2; the irradiance values at the remaining stations ranged from 150 to 250 W·m-2. The irradiance in most areas was 100-200 W·m-2 higher without cloud cover, and the regions where the difference is significant are primarily the Tianshan Mountains, northern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and Kunlun Mountain, with the largest difference of 505.76 W·m-2.

Key words: surface solar radiation, cloud, spatial-temporal changes, CERES, Xinjiang and the surrounding “Belt and Road” regions