Radiative fluxes in the troposphere from upper air meteorological data in Saudi Arabia

An attempt is made to use the empirical type of parameterization scheme for the calculations of solar radiative fluxes and atmospheric heating or cooling rates in the troposphere by using observed upper air meteorological data. This type of parameterization scheme is useful in calculating the upper air heating/cooling rate for use in planetary boundary layer modelling and in the evaluation of the surface heat budget equation. The results presented in this paper are based on the upper air data collected between 1300 to 1500 Local Standard Time (LST) in Dhahran for the year 1989. The diurnal variation of vertical profiles of radiative fluxes and heating/cooling rates is calculated by changing the solar zenith angle. The diurnal variation of annually averaged solar radiation fluxes reaching the ground is compared with the observed values of solar radiative flux at Dhahran. The calculated values are in excellent agreement with the observed values in the morning and evening times. The scheme used in this paper can be used for obtaining solar radiative fluxes and atmospheric heating or cooling rates above the earth's surface at places where only upper air meteorological data is available.