Radiation Projects

Provide highly accurate worldwide radiative flux measurements to validate satellite-based measurements. Develop instrument requirements, establish BSRN reference stations worldwide and assemble a database.

Release a web site that will provide both synthetic and observation-based tests for any radiative transfer code calculating broadband fluxes (like those used in GCMs).

Produce a 20-year climatology of aerosol forcing data from satellite observations and field observations for use in climate models.

Produce on-going, long-term, globally complete gridded estimates of precipitation. Merge precipitation estimates computed from satellite-based microwave, infrared, and sounding data with analyses of in-situ gauge data. Monthly and pentad data sets are available 1979-present, and daily data sets are available 1997-present.

Compare the performance of these 3D RT codes used in a variety of current scientific work in the atmospheric sciences.

Assess how well 1D solar radiative transfer codes, especially those used in NWP models and GCMs, interpret and handle unresolved clouds.

Produce a continuous global data set of the Earth's radiance using cloud radiance data from geostationary and polar orbiting weather satellites.

Produce a high-resolution satellite-based data set of land-surface turbulent fluxes of heat and water.

Produce a high-resolution satellite-based data set of of surface turbulent fluxes over the global oceans.

Produce a 10-year global data set of the Earth's radiation budget (shortwave and longwave) using ISCCP data and radiative transfer models.

Formerly the Column Profiling (CPROF) Working Group. Will release a common set of products from common sites collected during the same time period. Together with a linked set of web sites, these data will serve to illustrate the value of this type of measurement set (long-term, continuous measurements from cloud, aerosol and atmospheric profilers) and to prepare for more extensive operations during the flights of CloudSat and Calipso.

Determine the feasability of producing common precipitation products from radar networks for a common time period.

Assessing the reliability of the global, long-term cloud data sets.

Assess the quality and compatibility of global aerosol products with a focus on the Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP)

Provide a forum for consistent analysis of long-term radiative flux products, primarily top-of-atmosphere and surface fluxes, to establish a foundation for better global radiation budget analysis.