Earth Radiation Budget

The Earth Radiation Budget (at the top of the atmosphere) describes the overall balance between the incoming energy from the sun and the outgoing thermal (longwave) and reflected (shortwave) energy from the earth. It can only be measured from space. The radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere is the basic radiative forcing of the climate system. Measuring its variability in space and time over the globe provides insight into the overall response of the system to this forcing.

ECV Products and Requirements

These products and requirements reflect the Implementation Plan 2022 (GCOS-244).

The requirements are found in the complete 2022 ECVs Requirements document as well: ECV Earth Radiation Budget

Products  Radiation ProfileDownward Short-Wave Irradiance at Top of the AtmosphereUpward Short-Wave Irradiance at Top of the AtmosphereUpward Long-Wave Irradiance at Top of the Atmosphere
 (*)UnitValuesValuesValuesValues
Horizontal ResolutionGkm10101010
B50505050
T100100100100
Vertical ResolutionGkm1---
B2---
T4---
Temporal ResolutionGh1111
B2462424
T72024720720
TimelinessGh1111
B24242424
T720720720720
Required Measurement Uncertainty (2-sigma)GW m-20.1/0.20.040.20.2
B0.2/0.40.080.50.5
T0.4/0.80.1211
StabilityGW m-2/decade0.025/0.050.010.060.05
B0.05/0.10.020.150.1
T0.1/0.20.040.30.2
Products  Solar Spectral Irradiance
 (*)UnitValues
Horizontal ResolutionGmm10
B50
T100
Spectral ResolutionG  
B< 290 nm1nm
290-1000 nm2nm
1000-1600 nm5nm
1600-320010nm
3200-640020nm
6400-10020 nm40nm
10020-160000 nm20000nm
T  
Temporal ResolutionGh3
B12
T24
TimelinessGh1
B10
T90
Required Measurement Uncertainty (2-sigma)G%0.3
B1.5
T3
StabilityG%/ decade0.03
B0.15
T0.3

(*) Goal (G): an ideal requirement above which further improvements are not necessary. Breakthrough (B): an intermediate level between threshold and goal which, if achieved, would result in a significant improvement for the targeted application. The breakthrough value may also indicate the level at which specified uses within climate monitoring become possible. It may be appropriate to have different breakthrough values for different uses. Threshold (T): the minimum requirement to be met to ensure that data are useful

Data sources

This list provides sources for openly accessible data sets with worldwide coverage for which metadata is available. It is curated by the respective GCOS ECV Steward(s). The list does not claim to be complete. Anyone with a suitable dataset who wishes it to be added to this list should contact the abombelliatwmo [dot] int (GCOS Secretariat).

Reanalysis:


Satellite:

  • Satellite ECV Inventory by the CEOS/CGMS Working Group on Climate (WGClimate)
Earth radiation budget
Domain:
Atmosphere
Subdomain:
Upper Atmosphere
Scientific Area:
Energy and Temperature
ECV Steward:
Products:
Radiation Profile, Downward Short-Wave Irradiance at Top of the Atmosphere, Upward Short-Wave Irradiance at Top of the Atmosphere, Upward Long-Wave Irradiance at Top of the Atmosphere, Solar Spectral Irradiance