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Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Via Lactea s/n E38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Telephone: +34 922 605268 Fax: +34 922 605200 email: epalle [at] iac.es |
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Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Via Lactea s/n E38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Telephone: +34 922 605268 Fax: +34 922 605200 email: epalle [at] iac.es |
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Brief CV:
Research Interests:
Publication list and Reprints (click here)
Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology:
Since the discovery in 1992 of
the first planet outside the solar system (or exoplanet), the number of
planet detections is increasing exponentially. Although we are not capable
of detecting and exploring planets like our own yet, ambitious missions are
already being planned for the next decades, and the discovery of Earth-like
planets is only a matter of time. The future observed population of planets
in the galaxy will exhibit a wide range of planet types and evolutionary
stages. Observations of "The Earth as a Planet"
will provide the key to understand future observational data of exo-atmospheres.
The example of the Earth and the rest of the rocky planets of the solar
system will be our guidance to classify and understand the multiplicity of
planetary systems that might exist in our galaxy. However, the
Earth-Exoplanets connection will work in both directions. When a substantial
database of exoplanets becomes available, statistics of planetary formation
and evolution will become possible. This will provide valuable information in solving some of the questions about the
formation and evolution of our own planet and the solar system, for which we
still have no answers. Undoubtedly, one of the main concerns will be the search
for life. By means of earthshine observations and computer models I have studied
the characteristics features of the globally-integrated light reflected from the
Earth.
Earthshine and the Earth’s Albedo:
Photometric observations of
the dark and bright side of the Moon have been routinely taken at BBSO since 1998.
In recent years we have extended our observations to a web of robotic
telescopes. The goal is the determination and monitoring of the earth’s global albedo.
We study the nightly, seasonal and long-term variations in the earth’s
reflectance properties and its impact on the earth’s radiation budget. We also
make use and develop albedo models to compare with our observations. We are
currently developing a network of stations to monitor the earthshine with global
coverage. At present three earthshine telescopes are in operation:
Big Bear Solar Observatory, NJIT, California, USA (robotic telescope)
Izaña Observatory, IAC, Canary Islands, Spain (robotic telescope)
Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchny, Crimea, Ukraine (manual telescope)
Solar-Terrestrial Physics:
My research interests cover the role
of the Sun in climate and climate change, and the indirect mechanisms of
amplification of the solar signal into the climate system. In particular, I
have studied the possible influence of galactic cosmic rays on cloud
formation processes, and its possible implications for the Earth's radiation
budget and long-term climate change.
Clouds and the Earth's Radiation budget:
Clouds are the most
uncertainly parameterized climate variable and have a large impact on the
earth’s radiation budget. The earth’s albedo is largely dominated by cloud
amount and properties. I have established correlations between low cloud
factor and solar activity parameters and between the earthshine observations
and satellite-derived cloud properties, which were subsequently used to
predict past cloud behavior. From ERBE cloud radiative properties we then
estimated the radiative effect of the predicted long-term changes in albedo
and the different cloud types.
Climate time series analysis: I am also interested in the analysis and inter-relationships between global (or local) climate variables (e.g., clouds, visible and infrared radiation, temperature, sunshine records), geomagnetic variables, palaeo-climatic records and solar activity indicators.
Publication list and Reprints (click here)
Disclaimer: This is the personal page of Enric Palle, who has the compromise to respect the rules of behaviour for computers at IAC and the norms on ethics and correct use of the RedIris. The views expressed in these pages are those of the author only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. The author is solely responsible for the content of these pages. Other IAC personal web pages can be found here.
Last Revised: 01/dec/2007
