BOREAS RSS-14: GOES-7 Surface and Atmospheric Radiation Images

GOES-7 satellite data from February to September 1994 provides a continuous, zero-filled sequence of binary images depicting shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes. These images cover the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study region, capturing energy exchange at both the surface and the top of the atmosphere. The dataset supports analysis of temporal patterns in radiative forcing and surface energy balance during the BOREAS field campaign.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance based on derived shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes.
• Analyzing temporal trends in atmospheric radiative forcing from February to September 1994.
• Validating climate and land surface models using top-of-atmosphere radiation observations.
• Studying the impact of cloud cover and aerosols on surface radiation budgets in the BOREAS region.

Strengths

• Covers a specific 7.5-month field campaign period from 05-Feb-1994 to 20-Sep-1994.
• Provides a consistent temporal sequence, with missing images zero-filled to ensure continuity.
• Derived from GOES-7, a geostationary satellite offering consistent spatial coverage of the study region.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts: one source lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates 1994, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Column names and exact data structure are unknown, complicating direct analysis.
• The 'other-license-specified' license is ambiguous and requires further investigation for reuse.

Provenance

Source

BOREAS RSS-14 team, NASA

Collection Method

Collected and processed from GOES-7 satellite imagery.

Time Range

1994-02-05 to 1994-09-20

Freshness

Conflicting: one source indicates last updated 2026-03-13, another indicates 1994-09-20.

Geography

BOREAS (Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study) region