Calibration of Ångström-Prescott Equation to Estimate Daily Solar Radiation on Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil

Abstract Knowledge of solar radiation is required for many applications. However, this atmospheric variable is not measured with an adequate space resolution. In this sense, to sites where solar radiation data are not directly measure, estimative using Ångström-Prescott equation can be used in order to provide solar radiation data, with input of sunshine duration. Thus, the objective of present study was to calibrate the Ångström-Prescott equation for different sites in Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil. The performance of the calibrated Ångström-Prescott equation was evaluated by comparing of daily global solar radiation observed in situ. The MBE (Mean Bias Error) was lower than 1.50 MJ m-2 day-1, the Pearson's correlation coefficient about 0.90 and Willmott's index of agreement higher than 0.90, which are considered satisfactory.