The effect of the solar eclipse on the air temperature near the ground

This paper describes the effect of the air temperature decrease in low boundary layer during the solar eclipse with special regard to influence on convectional events. The phenomenon progress was modelled to predict solar radiation flux changes. Then the basic model of local ground and air temperature changes was constructed. The qualitative features of air temperature-time curve during the eclipse were explained. The effect was investigated experimentally on the example of the partial eclipse observed from Szezawnica, Poland on 11th August, 1999, The results of the precise air temperature measurements were presented. The general shape of temperature curve was confirmed. The problem of convection intensity and temporal scales of convectional events was examined. It was observed that the temperature variance decreased over a factor of 2 in the maximum eclipse-centred, 50 min long time interval which depicts the reduced convection regime. In addition, the temperature spectrum for long periods obtained for this time range seem to differ significantly from one registered before and after. The convection near the maximum eclipse is characterised by a dominant temporal scale of 22 min, while before and after 11-13 min scale is the most important. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.