الأشعة الشمسية القصيرة على سطح الأرض في المملكة العربية السعودية

Abstract EN

This study presents an attempt to describe and anaJyse the areal distribution of the amount of short-wave solar radiation that reaches the ground surface within the area of Saudi Arabia .

It is based on the monthly averages of dialy totals that are derived from the individual monthly readings at fifty nine localities for the period of !970-1992 .

The well established and widely used Angstrom equation for the estimation of the amount of short-wave radiation was used for the inclusion of locations that lack direct measurements .

On the bases of the areal extent of the monthly averages , the avrage total monthly amount of short-wave solar radiation for the total area of Saudi Arabia was calculated .

The study ء nevertheless , reveals that the stepwise zonal distribution of the short-wave solar radiation is the prevailing distribution chcaracteristic .

Moreover ر local deviations from this zonality are present and are produced by local surface and atmospheric characteristics .

Finally ء the study shows that the total yearly consumption of electricity in Saudi Arabia represents only 65ة parts per ten million parts of the total yearly solar energy that reaches the ground surface of Saudi Arabia.