Solar radiation measured at the sea surface off Oregon during summer 1963

Graduation date: 1965Solar radiation intensities, incident to the sea surface off the Oregon\ud coast, are measured and compared. Simplification of some physical\ud and biological problems can be anticipated if the average radiation\ud received over a broad segment of ocean can be accurately indicated\ud by the amount recorded at the land station.\ud The area of ocean over which the study was made extends the\ud length of the Oregon coast and 165 miles to sea. The measurements\ud were made during the months of June, July, August, and September\ud 1963 with an Eppley total radiation pyrheliometer.\ud A division of the study area into Newport and three zones parallel\ud to the coast separated the data into comparative groups. Clear sky\ud radiation values, assumed constant with longitude, are used as bases\ud for comparison. For each value of observed radiation, a corresponding\ud clear sky value was calculated using standard techniques. Curves,\ud based on a dust-free atmosphere with two cm of precipitable water,\ud are developed to provide these calculated values.\ud Before the recorded values from the zones are compared, their\ud corresponding calculated spectra are adjusted to be identical. This\ud is done by weighting the number of observations in each classification.\ud In all instances, the zone values are adjusted to those of Newport.\ud Comparison is made between mean intensity values, percentages\ud of calculated clear sky values, relative and cumulative frequencies of\ud intensities, and composites of daily traces. Two methods of analysis\ud are employed. One classifies data by intensity level, and the other\ud classifies it by the hour of the day during which it was recorded.\ud Not enough observations were available in the two zones farthest\ud from Newport to provide smooth curves. It is found, however, that\ud there is essentially no change with longitude in observed intensity\ud spectra and means. It is concluded that the average radiation recorded\ud at Newport indicates with some accuracy the average radiation received\ud over the section of ocean in question