ERBE S-4G: Satellite-Derived Zonal and Global Radiation Budget Averages

Data collection for this product is complete. The dataset contains processed non-scanner, medium field-of-view (MFOV) measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) satellite system, averaged into latitudinal bands and global totals. It provides monthly, daily, and hourly averages for radiation parameters at 5.0 and 10.0 degree zonal resolutions, stored as 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit integers in HDF format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing latitudinal variations in Earth's radiation budget based on zonal averages.
• Validating climate model outputs against historical satellite-derived radiation measurements.
• Studying temporal trends in albedo and outgoing longwave radiation using daily and monthly averages.
• Comparing medium field-of-view (MFOV) instrument data with other spatial resolution products.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete, providing a finalized record.
• Offers multiple temporal aggregations: daily, monthly, and monthly hourly averages.
• Provides spatial averages at two specific resolutions: 5.0 and 10.0 degree latitudinal bands.
• Derived from a multi-satellite system (ERBS, NOAA-9, NOAA-10) designed for high accuracy, using active cavity radiometers.

Limitations

• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata: one source lists 2026-04-10 (likely a placeholder), while another lists 1990-02-28, creating uncertainty about provenance.
• Specific column names and dataset size (row count, file size) are not provided in any source.
• The license is listed as 'other-license-specified' without further detail, requiring user investigation.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite measurements from the ERBE non-scanner instrument package on ERBS, NOAA-9, and NOAA-10 satellites, processed using the numerical filter data reduction technique.

Freshness

1990-02-28 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global, with ERBS coverage between 67.5 degrees north and south latitude and NOAA satellites providing full global coverage.