Spectral variation of the solar radiation during an eclipse

The time dependent variation of the spectral extraterrestrial solar flux is modelled for the conditions during a total eclipse. These data are used to calculate irradiance and actinic flux at the Earth's surface for atmospheric conditions of August 11, 1999 at Weihenstephan. These results are compared with measurements. It is shown, that the spectral composition of solar radiation varies during the eclipse, since solar limb darkening has a spectral dependence. The solar radiation differs from that of a hypothetical sun without limb darkening by up to 30% in the near IR at 1500 nm and 60% in the UV-B at 310 nm. As shown by a comparison of modelling and measurements, this spectral variation has to be taken into account for modelling of UV radiative quantities in the atmosphere and resulting photochemical processes. The effect of broken cloudiness on ir-radiance and actinic flux and its dependency on wavelength and receiver geometry is explained.