From Dimming to Brightening: Decadal Changes in Solar Radiation at Earth's Surface

Variations in solar radiation incident at Earth's surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment. A decline in solar radiation at land surfaces has become apparent in many observational records up to 1990, a phenomenon known as global dimming. Newly available surface observatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2005-05, Vol.308 (5723), p.847-850
Main Authors: Wild, Martin, Gilgen, Hans, Roesch, Andreas, Ohmura, Atsumu, Long, Charles N, Dutton, Ellsworth G, Forgan, Bruce, Kallis, Ain, Russak, Viivi, Tsvetkov, Anatoly
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Antarctic regions
Atmospherics
Climate change
Climatology
Continental crust
Earth
Greenhouse effect
Insolation
Measurement
Meteorology
Networks
Observation
Observations
Radiation
Regression analysis
Solar flares
Solar radiation
Surface (Geology)
Transmission lines
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Summary:Variations in solar radiation incident at Earth's surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment. A decline in solar radiation at land surfaces has become apparent in many observational records up to 1990, a phenomenon known as global dimming. Newly available surface observations from 1990 to the present, primarily from the Northern Hemisphere, show that the dimming did not persist into the 1990s. Instead, a widespread brightening has been observed since the late 1980s. This reversal is reconcilable with changes in cloudiness and atmospheric transmission and may substantially affect surface climate, the hydrological cycle, glaciers, and ecosystems.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1103215