Antarctic Solar and Thermal Radiation Measurements at Dumont d'Urville

One-minute resolution data captures the full diurnal cycle of incoming solar and outgoing thermal radiation at a coastal Antarctic station. The dataset includes raw and scaled irradiance values, sensor temperatures, and statistical aggregates for both a pyranometer and a pyrgeometer. It was collected by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre and last updated in 2016.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between Scaled Irradiances (W/m2) and Sensor Temperature (degrees C) to study instrument performance and thermal corrections.
• Model the surface energy budget by correlating incoming short-wave (pyranometer) and outgoing long-wave (pyrgeometer) Scaled Irradiances Ave.
• Detect cloud cover events by identifying rapid fluctuations in 1-minute Pyranometer Raw sample Max and Min (uV) values.
• Validate satellite-derived surface radiation products using ground-truth Scaled Irradiances Ave from the precise geographic location.
• Study diurnal and seasonal cycles of radiation using the timestamp in UT and the statistical aggregates (Ave, Stdev, Max, Min) for both instruments.

Strengths

• High temporal resolution with 1-minute samples for detailed process studies.
• Contains both raw sensor voltages (uV, mV/mV) and physically scaled scientific units (W/m2).
• Provides statistical aggregates (Ave, Stdev, Max, Min) for each measured variable per logging interval.
• Precise geographic location specified at Dumont d'Urville station (Lat -66.662778 S, Long 140.001944 E).

Limitations

• Data recency is limited, with the last update recorded in January 2016.
• The dataset's total temporal coverage and number of data rows are unspecified.
• Limited to a single geographic location, restricting spatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Measured by a Kipp and Zonan CMP21 Pyranometer and a CGR4 Pyrgeometer, with data logged at 1-minute intervals.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Dumont d'Urville Station, Antarctica (Lat -66.662778 S, Long 140.001944 E).