Variations of the Solar Spectral Irradiance

The relative variation of the solar irradiance depends strongly on the wavelength band, with the shortest wavelengths exhibiting the largest variations over the solar cycle. This means that not only the total irradiance varies with solar activity but also the shape of the solar spectrum. These measured effects have been successfully modelled. The models indicate that more than 90% of the total and spectral irradiance variations over the solar cycle are due to the magnetic field at the solar surface. The solar spectral irradiance variations play an important part in constraining the models, since they can directly distinguish between changes in the solar effective temperature and changes produced by variations of solar surface magnetic flux. They also help to determine what fraction of the total solar radiative input to Earth is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere.