Summary
The research we conducted attempted to investigate the effects of cloud cover. Our research wanted to see if cloud cover acts as a shield to insolation, allowing less insolation to reach Earth’s surface, allowing the Earth to cool. We did this by investigating the relation of cloud cover and sun insolation. We hypothesized that insolation would reduce as the cloud cover increased, which we assessed by calculating insolation and cloud cover using data collected from a pyranometer and a time lapse camera, and then relating them with each other. Our data suggest that our hypothesis was correct. As cloud cover increased, the insolation decreased. It appeared that clouds block out insolation, meaning they might not be a cause of global warming.

Daniel Crair, Kelsey Peeples, and Dr. Suzanne Banas

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research