Real-Time Global Computation of the Solar Position in Google Earth Engine

Real-Time Global Computation of the Solar Position in Google Earth Engine

October 11, 2022

Description: Information about the solar position at a given date and time is crucial for e.g. photovoltaic systems and numerous environmental analyses. For this purpose I created the “GlobalSolarPosition” module which enables global computation and visualization of solar position, both with and without respect to the surface slope and aspect in Google Earth Engine. Users can either incorperate the respective functions in their scripts or use the interactive GEE Application.

The calculations of the solar zenith and azimuth angles are based on the following equations. The angles are computed for a given local time with respect to the present time zone based on the Natural Earth time zones dataset.

Access: The code to the functions, example scripts, as well as an interactive Google Earth Engine Application can be accessed via the GlobalSolarPosition GitHub repository.

Citation: Philipp, M. (2022): GobalSolarPosition V.1.0. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7139847.

you may also like:

Poster Presentation at AK Hydrologie, Bonn

Poster Presentation at AK Hydrologie, Bonn

From November 13 to 15, Sofia Haag and Christian Schäfer attended the AK Hydrologie workshop in Bonn, where they presented their work from the EO4CAM project. The first day featured an insightful field excursion to the Ahrtal region, led by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Herget,...

A Glimpse into Our Research: Data on Display in the Foyer

A Glimpse into Our Research: Data on Display in the Foyer

Stepping into the foyer, visitors are now greeted by large, striking images that tell the story of our research through data. Each visual represents a unique scientific perspective – from the Arctic to the cultivated landscapes of Bavaria, and from forest canopies to...

Successful MSc defense by Sonja Maas

Successful MSc defense by Sonja Maas

Big congratulations to Sonja Maas, who successfully defended her Master thesis today on the highly relevant and increasingly pressing topic: LiDAR-Based Acquisition Strategies for Forest Management Planning in a Mature Beech Stand Supervised by Dr. Julian Fäth and...

Visit at the Institute for Geoinformatics (IFGI) at University of Münster

Visit at the Institute for Geoinformatics (IFGI) at University of Münster

Two days ago, our PostDoc Dr. Jakob Schwalb-Willmann visited the Institute for Geoinformatics at University of Münster to give a talk at IFGI’s GI Forum titled “Can animals be used to classify land use? Employing movement-tracked animals as environmental informants using deep learning”.