Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | E1206-E1221 |
| Journal | Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2023 |
Abstract
Satellites have consistently pointed to the Altiplano of the Atacama Desert as the place on Earth where the world’s highest surface irradiance occurs. This region, near the Tropic of Capricorn, is characterized by its high elevation, prevalent cloudless conditions, and relatively low concentrations of ozone, aerosols, and precipitable water. Aimed at studying the variability of the surface solar irradiance and detecting atmospheric composition changes in the Altiplano, an atmospheric observatory was set up in 2016 at the northwestern border of the Chajnantor Plateau (5,148 m MSL, 22.95°S, 67.78°W, Chile). Here, we report on the first 5 years of measurements at this observatory that establish the Altiplano as the region that receives the highest-known irradiation on Earth and illuminate the unique features of surface solar extremes at high-altitude locations. We found that the global horizontal shortwave (SW) irradiance on the plateau is on average 308 W m−2 (equivalent to an annual irradiation of 2.7 MWh m−2 yr−1, the highest worldwide). We also found that forward scattering by broken clouds often leads to intense bursts of SW irradiance; a record of 2,177 W m−2 was measured, equivalent to the extraterrestrial SW irradiance expected at approximately 0.79 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. These cloud-driven surface solar extremes occur on the Chajnantor Plateau at a frequency, intensity, and duration not previously seen anywhere in the world, making the site an ideal location for studying the response of photovoltaic (PV) power plants to periods of enhanced SW variability.
Keywords
- Atmosphere, Extreme events, Renewable energy, Shortwave radiation, South America, Surface observations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Atmospheric Science
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 104, No. 6, 01.06.2023, p. E1206-E1221.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Surface Solar Extremes in the Most Irradiated Region on Earth, Altiplano
AU - Cordero, Raúl R.
AU - Feron, Sarah
AU - Damiani, Alessandro
AU - Sepúlveda, Edgardo
AU - Jorquera, Jose
AU - Redondas, Alberto
AU - Seckmeyer, Gunther
AU - Carrasco, Jorge
AU - Rowe, Penny
AU - Ouyang, Zutao
N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments. We thank the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center, the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and each of the satellite teams for the data access and all their hard work in producing the datasets. We also thank the SKYNET, EUBREWNET, and AERONET teams as well as the researchers contributing to the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The support of ANID (ANILLO ACT210046) and Dicyt-USACH 042331CC_AYUDANTE and 042231CC_AYUDANTE is gratefully acknowledged. P.R. is grateful for funding from NSF Award 2127632.
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - Satellites have consistently pointed to the Altiplano of the Atacama Desert as the place on Earth where the world’s highest surface irradiance occurs. This region, near the Tropic of Capricorn, is characterized by its high elevation, prevalent cloudless conditions, and relatively low concentrations of ozone, aerosols, and precipitable water. Aimed at studying the variability of the surface solar irradiance and detecting atmospheric composition changes in the Altiplano, an atmospheric observatory was set up in 2016 at the northwestern border of the Chajnantor Plateau (5,148 m MSL, 22.95°S, 67.78°W, Chile). Here, we report on the first 5 years of measurements at this observatory that establish the Altiplano as the region that receives the highest-known irradiation on Earth and illuminate the unique features of surface solar extremes at high-altitude locations. We found that the global horizontal shortwave (SW) irradiance on the plateau is on average 308 W m−2 (equivalent to an annual irradiation of 2.7 MWh m−2 yr−1, the highest worldwide). We also found that forward scattering by broken clouds often leads to intense bursts of SW irradiance; a record of 2,177 W m−2 was measured, equivalent to the extraterrestrial SW irradiance expected at approximately 0.79 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. These cloud-driven surface solar extremes occur on the Chajnantor Plateau at a frequency, intensity, and duration not previously seen anywhere in the world, making the site an ideal location for studying the response of photovoltaic (PV) power plants to periods of enhanced SW variability.
AB - Satellites have consistently pointed to the Altiplano of the Atacama Desert as the place on Earth where the world’s highest surface irradiance occurs. This region, near the Tropic of Capricorn, is characterized by its high elevation, prevalent cloudless conditions, and relatively low concentrations of ozone, aerosols, and precipitable water. Aimed at studying the variability of the surface solar irradiance and detecting atmospheric composition changes in the Altiplano, an atmospheric observatory was set up in 2016 at the northwestern border of the Chajnantor Plateau (5,148 m MSL, 22.95°S, 67.78°W, Chile). Here, we report on the first 5 years of measurements at this observatory that establish the Altiplano as the region that receives the highest-known irradiation on Earth and illuminate the unique features of surface solar extremes at high-altitude locations. We found that the global horizontal shortwave (SW) irradiance on the plateau is on average 308 W m−2 (equivalent to an annual irradiation of 2.7 MWh m−2 yr−1, the highest worldwide). We also found that forward scattering by broken clouds often leads to intense bursts of SW irradiance; a record of 2,177 W m−2 was measured, equivalent to the extraterrestrial SW irradiance expected at approximately 0.79 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. These cloud-driven surface solar extremes occur on the Chajnantor Plateau at a frequency, intensity, and duration not previously seen anywhere in the world, making the site an ideal location for studying the response of photovoltaic (PV) power plants to periods of enhanced SW variability.
KW - Atmosphere
KW - Extreme events
KW - Renewable energy
KW - Shortwave radiation
KW - South America
KW - Surface observations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164661719&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1175/bams-d-22-0215.1
DO - 10.1175/bams-d-22-0215.1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85164661719
VL - 104
SP - E1206-E1221
JO - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
JF - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
SN - 0003-0007
IS - 6
ER -