Astronomy and solar physics: measurement of the solar spectral irradiance from 200 to 3000 nanometers

The solar spectrum experiment on Spacelab 1 measured 98 percent of the sun's total energy output. It improved the absolute accuracy of solar irradiance data, especially in the ultraviolet and infrared regions. In order to detect any variation in the spectrum on future shuttle flights, the data were obtained in a radiation scale that can be preserved with high precision over many years. The instrument performance and preliminary data reduction are described.     

Solar Irradiance Change and Special Longitudes Due to r-Modes

Sluggish global oscillations, having a periodicity of months and trapped in the sun's convection zone, modulate the amount of energy reaching Earth and seem to impose some large-scale order on the distribution of solar surface features. These recently recognized oscillations (r-modes) increase the predictability of solar changes and may improve understanding of rotation and variability in other stars. Most of the 13 periodicities ranging from 13 to 85 days that are caused by r-modes can be detected in Nimbus 7 observations of solar irradiance during 3 years at solar maximum. These modes may also bear on the classical question of persistent longitudes of high solar activity.     

Stellar Activity and Brightness Variations: A Glimpse at the Sun's History

Radiometric measurements during the past decade from the Solar Maximum Mission and Nimbus 7 satellites have shown that the total solar irradiance varies in step with the sun's 11-year magnetic activity cycle. Stellar observations from the Lowell and Mount Wilson observatories now confirm and elaborate this discovery. These measurements show that older stars similar to the sun tend to become brighter as their magnetic activity level increases, just as the sun does during its 11-year activity cycle. Younger stars, however, tend to become fainter as their magnetic activity level increases. This contrasting behavior suggests that the balance between the competing phenomena that influence solar brightness variability has shifted during the sun's lifetime.     

Observed ozone response to variations in solar ultraviolet radiation

During the winter of 1979, the solar ultraviolet irradiance varied with a period of 13.5 days and an amplitude of 1 percent. The zonal mean ozone values in the tropics varied with the solar irradiance, with an amplitude of 0.25 to 0.60 percent. This observation agrees with earlier calculations, although the response may be overestimated. These results imply changes in ozone at an altitude of 48 kilometers of up to 12 percent over an 11-year solar cycle. Interpretation of ozone changes in the upper stratosphere will require measurements of solar ultraviolet radiation at wavelengths near 200 nanometers.     

An empirical model of total solar irradiance variation between 1874 and 1988

An empirical model of variations in the total solar irradiance caused by observed changes in photospheric magnetic activity between 1874 and 1988 is presented. The model provides a remarkably good representation of the irradiance variations observed by satellite-borne radiometers between 1980 and 1988. It suggests that the mean total irradiance has been rising steadily since about 1945, with the largest peak so far at about 1980 and another large peak expected during the current solar cycle 22. But it is doubtful whether even this rise can contribute significantly to global warming, unless the temperature increase of about 0.02 degrees C that it produces in current energy balance models seriously underestimates the sensitivity of climate to solar irradiance changes.     

A model of solar luminosity modulation by magnetic activity between 1954 and 1984

A simple model based on the changes in excess radiation from bright magnetic faculae and on changes in reduced radiation from dark spots is remarkably successful in matching the slow variations of total solar irradiance measured simultaneously by the ERB and ACRIM satellite radiometers between 1981 and 1984. This model was extended back to 1954 to reconstruct the modulation of irradiance by magnetic activity during the past three 11-year solar cycles. The model predicts that the sun is consistently brighter at activity maximum than at minimum. The 0.07 percent brightening at the peak of the last cycle in 1980 was more pronounced than the brightenings found for either of the two previous cycles, even though cycle 19, which peaked around 1957, had the largest sunspot number amplitude in the history of reliable sunspot records.     

Long-term downward trend in total solar irradiance

The first 5 years (from 1980 to 1985) of total solar irradiance observations by the first Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM I) experiment on board the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft show a clearly defined downward trend of -0.019% per year. The existence of this trend has been confirmed by the internal self-calibrations of ACRIM I, by independent measurements from sounding rockets and balloons, and by observations from the Nimbus-7 spacecraft. The trend appears to be due to unpredicted variations of solar luminosity on time scales of years, and it may be related to solar cycle magnetic activity.     

Observations of Time Variation in the Sun's Rotation

Observations of solar p-mode frequency splittings obtained at Big Bear Solar Observatory in 1986 and during 1988-90 reveal small ( approximately 1 percent) changes in the sun's subsurface angular velocity with solar cycle. An asymptotic inversion of the splitting data yields the latitude dependence of the rotation rate and shows that the largest changes in the angular velocity, approximately 4 nanohertz, occurred between 1986 and the later years, at high ( approximately 60 degrees ) solar latitudes. Earlier helioseismic observations suggest that solar cycle changes in the ratio of magnetic to turbulent pressure in the solar convection zone are large enough to account for the magnitude of the observed angular velocity variations but a detailed model of the phenomenon does not exist.     

The Sun's Influence on the Earh's Atmosphere and Interplanetary Space

The bulk of the sun's radiation is in the visible and infrared. Solar radiation at these wavelengths controls the weather in the lowest levels of the earth's atmosphere. The rate at which this energy is emitted (the so-called solar constant) varies by a few tenths of 1 percent over a time scale of days. Longer period variations may exist, but have yet to be detected. Far more variable are the amounts of energy emitted as ultraviolet, extreme ultraviolet, and x-rays, and in the continuous outflow of ionized solar particles. The latter controls the properties of the space between the earth and the sun as well as those of the earth's magnetosphere. The ultraviolet and particle emissions control the properties of the earth's upper atmosphere, including the global wind circulation and changes therein associated with intense auroral storms. While considerable progress has been made in exploring the solar-terrestrial system since the advent of space research, many problems remain. These include the question of how magnetic energy is converted into ionized particle energy in the sun and in the earth's magnetosphere, the way in which solar and terrestrial magnetic fields join or merge, and how large electric fields are generated and sustained a few thousand kilometers above the earth's poles. Perhaps the most intriguing question concerns the possible relation between solar variability and the earth's weather and climate.     

Observations of solar irradiance variability

High-precision measurements of total solar irradiance, made by the active cavity radiometer irradiance monitor on the Solar Maximum Mission satellite, show the irradiance to have been variable throughout the first 153 days of observations. The corrected data resolve orbit-to-orbit variations with uncertainties as small as 0.001 percent. Irradiance fluctuations are typical of a band-limited noise spectrum with high-frequency cutoff near 0.15 day(-1) their amplitudes about the mean value of 1368.31 watts per square meter approach +/- 0.05 percent. Two large decreases in irrradiance of up to 0.2 percent lasting about 1 week are highly correlated with the development of sunspot groups. The magnitude and time scale of the irradiance variability suggest that considerable energy storage occurs within the convection zone in solar active regions.     

Spectrum line intensity as a surrogate for solar irradiance variations

Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) solar constant measurements from 1980 to 1986 are compared with ground-based, irradiance spectrophotometry of selected Fraunhofer lines. Both data sets were identically sampled and smoothed with an 85-day running mean, and the ACRIM total solar irradiance (S) values were corrected for sunspot blocking (S(c)). The strength of the mid-photospheric manganese 539.4-nanometer line tracks almost perfectly with ACRIM S(e), Other spectral features formed high in the photosphere and chromosphere also track well. These comparisons independently confirm the variability in the ACRIM S(e), signal, indicate that the source of irradiance is faculae, and indicate that ACRIM S(e), follows the 11-year activity cycle.     

太阳辐射减弱对冬小麦叶片光合作用膜脂过氧化及同化物累积的影响

为了探究气溶胶的太阳辐射减弱效应对农作物叶片生理特性及同化物累积的影响,以扬麦13为供试材料,在大田试验条件下系统研究了不同辐射减弱处理(100%、60%、40%、20%、15%)对冬小麦叶片光合作用、膜脂过氧化水平和同化物积累的影响。结果表明:太阳辐射减弱至自然光的60%~15%时,冬小麦叶片净光合速率减少15.8%~70.1%,光合色素的含量(叶绿素a、b和类胡萝卜素)显著提高,其中叶绿素b含量的增加最明显。太阳辐射减弱会抑制冬小麦叶片膜脂过氧化程度,减少细胞膜透性,且辐射减弱的程度越高,影响越大。当太阳辐射为自然光的60%~15%时,冬小麦叶片的可溶性糖含量比对照降低了32.22%~76.45%,可溶性蛋白含量降低了19.02%~48.12%,但总游离氨基酸含量比对照增加了47.46%~177.87%。上述结果表明,太阳辐射减弱后会减弱冬小麦光合作用,增加光合色素含量,抑制膜脂过氧化程度,从而导致作物体内同化物的累积受阻,糖类及蛋白质的含量显著降低,必然会影响作物的产量及品质形成。     

Length of the solar cycle: an indicator of solar activity closely associated with climate

It has recently been suggested that the solar irradiance has varied in phase with the 80- to 90-year period represented by the envelope of the 11-year sunspot cycle and that this variation is causing a significant part of the changes in the global temperature. This interpretation has been criticized for statistical reasons and because there are no observations that indicate significant changes in the solar irradiance. A set of data that supports the suggestion of a direct influence of solar activity on global climate is the variation of the solar cycle length. This record closely matches the long-term variations of the Northern Hemisphere land air temperature during the past 130 years.     

蔬菜大棚内辐照度时空变化研究

[目的]为蔬菜大棚的高产栽培提供理论指导。[方法]利用TBQ—DL太阳辐射电流表对蔬菜大棚的辐照度时间和空间变化进行测定和研究。[结果]蔬菜大棚内阴天和晴天辐熙度均呈单峰型曲线,阴天辐照度比晴天弱,阴天辐照度在14：00达到最大值,晴天在12：00达到最大值。阴天和晴天辐照度均随高度的升高呈递增趋势。阴天和晴天大棚不同部位辐照度规律均是：上午东侧〉中侧〉西侧,下午西侧〉中侧〉东侧。[结论]在生产中,尤其是阴天较多的地区,应该更充分利用蔬菜大棚高层的光照资源。     

太阳辐射减弱和臭氧浓度增加对大豆荧光特性与产量的影响

【目的】研究太阳辐射减弱和臭氧（O3）浓度增加单因子及复合作用条件下对大豆荧光特性与产量的影响,为应对两因素对我国农作物的不利影响提供基础理论依据。【方法】以八月黄大豆品种为试材,采用大田开顶式气室（OTC）进行太阳辐射减弱和O3浓度增加单因子及其复合条件下对大豆荧光特性与产量的影响试验。试验设4个处理,分别为：CK（不通O3、不作辐射减弱处理）、T1（不通O3,辐射减弱20％）、T2（100nL／LO3处理）、T3（100nL／LO3和辐射减弱20％复合处理）。【结果】相对于CK,T1、T2、T3处理条件下大豆的Pm、Ik、Yield、qP显著下降;L（PFD）、NPQ、Y（NPQ）、（1-qP）／NPQ显著增大;T1、T2、T3处理对快速光响应曲线的初始斜率（α）没有明显影响;T1处理对Fv/Fm值无明显影响,T2、T3处理的Fv/Fm。值显著下降;T1处理的Y（NO）值显著增大,T2处理的Y（NO）值显著减小,而T3处理没有显著改变Y（NO）值。相对于CK,T1、T2、T3处理条件下大豆的固氮能力、生物量和产量均显著降低,且呈T1〈T2〈T3的趋势。【结论】太阳辐射减弱和O3浓度增加复合条件下相对于单因子胁迫具有更明显的胁迫效应,但复合效应小于单因子胁迫效应的简单累加。太阳辐射减弱和O3浓度增加在很大程度上影响了大豆的光合作用,造成大豆减产。     

The Impact of Solar Variability on Climate

A general circulation model that simulated changes in solar irradiance and stratospheric ozone was used to investigate the response of the atmosphere to the 11-year solar activity cycle. At solar maximum, a warming of the summer stratosphere was found to strengthen easterly winds, which penetrated into the equatorial upper troposphere, causing poleward shifts in the positions of the subtropical westerly jets, broadening of the tropical Hadley circulations, and poleward shifts of the storm tracks. These effects are similar to, although generally smaller in magnitude than, those observed in nature. A simulation in which only solar irradiance was changed showed a much weaker response.     

Stellar luminosity variations and global warming

Recent studies indicate that variation in the sun's luminosity is less than that observed in many other stars of similar magnetic activity. Current findings also indicate that in more active stars, the attenuation by faculae of sunspot luminosity modulation is less effective than in the sun at present. The sun could thus become photometrically more variable (and dimmer) if its magnetic activity exceeded present levels. But the levels of solar activity required for this to occur are not observed in carbon-14 and beryllium-10 records over the past several millennia, which indicates that such an increase in amplitude of surface magnetism-driven variations in solar luminosity is unlikely in the present epoch.     

Torsional oscillations of the sun

The sun's differential rotation has a cyclic pattern of change that is tightly correlated with the sunspot, or magnetic activity, cycle. This pattern can be described as a torsional oscillation, in which the solar rotation is periodically sped up or slowed down in certain zones of latitude while elsewhere the rotation remains essentially steady. The zones of anomalous rotation move on the sun in wavelike fashion, keeping pace with and flanking the zones of magnetic activity. It is uncertain whether this torsional oscillation is a globally coherent ringing of the sun or whether it is a local pattern caused by and causing local changes in the magnetic fields. In either case, it may be an important link in the connection between the rotation and the cycle that is widely believed to exist but is not yet understood.     

Solar constant: first direct measurements

The solar constant was directly measured from an altitude of about 82 kilometers-apparently the first such determination. The total solar intensity was 136.1 milliwatts per square centimeter, or 1.952 calories per square centimeter, per minute-about 2.5 percent less than Johnson's derived value. Energy in the ultraviolet and visible regions (for lambda less than 607 nanometers) was 7.0 percent less than that obtained by integration over Johnson'Scurve; for integral flux of lambda greater than 607 nanometers there was almost perfect agreement. Seven supporting series of measurements from lower altitudes agreed extremely well with these results after correction for atmospheric extinction.     

Irradiance and plant temperature monitor/controller

An irradiance and plant temperature monitor/controller has been developed and is being tested for use in controlled environments and in commercial greenhouses. Photosynthetic photon flux density was monitored using a quantum sensor, while plant temperature was monitored with an infrared thermometer. A microprocessor integrated the signals from each sensor and permitted a choice of priority control of high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps or infrared (IR) heaters for control of plant temperature. It also permits dimming of HID lamps inversely proportional to natural irradiance.Effects of the monitor/controller changes on high-pressure sodium lamp output to input ratio, lamp life and dimming response time will be illustrated. The effects of irradiance variations on leaf heating and cooling are presented.