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Why would insolation (sunlight) have little effect for Longyearbyen? about angles, concentration

User Remdao
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Final answer:

During polar night, the extreme angles of the sun in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, cause insolation or sunlight to have little effect. The weak sunlight is scattered and absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in minimal impact on the town.


Step-by-step explanation:

Longyearbyen, a town in Svalbard, Norway, experiences polar night during winter, where the sun remains below the horizon for months. As a result, insolation or sunlight has little effect on the town during this period. This is due to the extreme angles of the sun in the polar regions, causing the sunlight to be too weak to have a significant impact.

For example, during the winter solstice, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky, resulting in very oblique angles of sunlight reaching Longyearbyen. This means that the sunlight gets scattered and absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere more before reaching the town. The concentration of sunlight is significantly reduced, leading to minimal impact on insolation.


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