Modeling with Solar Analyst

Stacey Stark (Geography), Steve Diamond (Mid-Continent Ecology Division, EPA)

The ArcView extension Solar Analyst (HEMI, Los Alamos, NM) was used to estimate solar radiation at wetlands in 6 National Parks. Steve Diamond (EPA Duluth) is then using the output to estimate UV-B exposure to wetlands as part of a characterization of amphibian habitat in 6 National Parks.

A second part of this project is to artificially modify existing digital elevation models (DEMs) to account for vegetative cover around the wetland sample sites (essentially creating a different horizon than the ground). The height of the vegetation impacts the solar radiation estimate, and these modifications are to estimate what that impact might be. The DEMs used are from the 30 x 30 meter National Elevation Dataset. Clinometers were used in the field to measure zenith angles to the horizon at 10 -12 azimuths at each site. These angles were used to modify the DEM at a 300 meter radius from the wetland sample site coordinates with the "effective" vegetative horizon height at that distance.