SURFACE RADIATION BALANCE OF THE EAST ANTARCTIC PLATEAU (Variations, tendencies and clouds role)

Aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of clouds on the radiation at the ground level at Dome C, in Antarctica. This area is considered to be representative of the entire East Antarctic Plateau. The thesis will examine the radiation at the site, both from the Sun and from the Earth, and how it interacts with the ice sheets that cover the entire continent. In particular we will analyze the change of clouds presence in the past decade and how this has affected the climate of the region. Thanks to a specific algorithm is in fact possible now to calculate the theoretical radiance in condition of perfect clear sky at every point of the planet. Confronting this results with the experimental data is possible to find out how clouds flux variation has affected Antarctica. We will analyze over 10 years of data recorded at the Italian-French station Concordia in order to obtain suitable parametrization of the four components of irradiance in clear-sky conditions.