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The variability of solar irradiance at a given site is often quantified using a single point sensor, rather than multiple sensors. Thus, the temporal aspect of variability is considered while the spatial aspect is ignored. We will construct a new, two-dimensional solar variability metric called the Surface Area Metric (SAM) that quantifies both the spatial and temporal variability. The SAM is calculated by first creating a surface plot of irradiance data over a given area for a single time step and then calculating changes in the surface area over time. The SAM will be calculated for each second of a day for four one-week periods that represent the characteristic seasons in Northern Arizona. The SAM will then be directly compared to Sandia's single-sensor Variability Index (VI) and we will determine how well correlated the VI is with the SAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]