Impact of the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 on the surface energy fluxes at Ibadan, Nigeria

摘要

This paper document the impact of the total solar eclipse (97.4%) of 29 March 2006 on the surface energy fluxes at Ibadan, Nigeria (longitude 4.56°E, latitude 7.55°N), a tropical location. The surface energy (determined by the BREB method) was found to be grossly affected by the eclipse. The latent heat and net radiation (R _n) lagged the sensible heat by 11min in totality. The sensible heat lagged the latent heat and R _n by 6min before it start to increase after the totality phase of the eclipse, while global radiation (R _g) lagged R _n by 7min. The sensible heat reversed sign, reaching a value of -1.02Wm -2 during the total phase of the eclipse while the latent heat dropped by 89.7%.All the radiation fluxes (global radiation, R _g, net radiation R _n, temperature, and soil heat flux) measured during the eclipse event were significantly affected by the sudden 'cut off' of the solar irradiation. There was a 95% decrease in R g, while R n dropped from 354.3Wm ~(-2) to -11.7Wm ~(-2).