Free Virtual Seminar: Basic Principles of Radiation Measurement to Predict ET, Climate Change, Photosynthesis, and Crop Yield

July 19, 2011 by Dr. Bruce Bugbee

Virtual Seminar: Basic Principles of Radiation Measurement to Predict ET, Climate Change, Photosynthesis, and Crop Yield

Measurement of net radiation is a critical component of the prediction of evapotranspiration and the temperature of our planet. Net radiation includes 4 components:

• Incoming shortwave radiation
• Reflected shortwave radiation
• Incoming longwave radiation
• Outgoing longwave radiation

Several new instruments have become available over the past few years to measure net radiation, but it is not always necessary to measure each radiation component separately. For many applications, a measurement of incoming shortwave radiation can be coupled with a model to predict net radiation.

This presentation will discuss these methods, as well as the following:

• The sensors used for measuring photosynthetic photon flux, a measurement which can determine photosynthesis, plant growth, and yield.
• Tools and techniques to improve the accuracy of estimating plant growth and yield based on absorbed radiation.