ERBE S-9: Satellite-Measured Top-of-Atmosphere Radiant Fluxes

Data collection for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) S-9 Scanner Radiant Flux dataset is complete. It contains inverted daily, monthly hourly, and monthly averages of shortwave (SWF) and longwave (LWF) radiant fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), averaged into 2.5-degree geographic regions. The data originates from scanner instruments on three satellites: NASA's ERBS and NOAA's NOAA-9 and NOAA-10.

Use Cases

• Modeling Earth's radiation budget based on satellite-measured shortwave and longwave fluxes.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of atmospheric radiation averaged into 2.5-degree regions.
• Validating climate models using historical top-of-atmosphere radiant flux data.
• Studying temporal trends in Earth's energy balance from daily to monthly timescales.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete, indicating a finalized record.
• Provides multi-temporal aggregation with daily, monthly hourly, and monthly averages.
• Derived from a multi-satellite system (ERBS, NOAA-9, NOAA-10), likely improving spatial coverage.

Limitations

• Column names and exact record counts are unknown, limiting understanding of data structure.
• Conflicting last-update dates exist between platforms (1990 vs. 2026), obscuring data currency.
• Descriptions are truncated and repetitive, suggesting incomplete or automated metadata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measured by scanner instruments on the ERBS, NOAA-9, and NOAA-10 satellites, which used thermistor detectors with space-view calibration.

Time Range

One month (specific month not stated).

Freshness

2026-04-10 03:39:41.299026 (datagov), but conflicts with 1990-02-28 date on nasa_earthdata.

Geography

Global, with data averaged into 2.5-degree geographic regions.