FIRE ASTEX: Monthly Solar Irradiance Data from METEOSAT, 1992

NASA's First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) produced this monthly solar irradiance data. The dataset contains calculations of surface solar flux for 1992, derived from METEOSAT satellite observations. Each monthly file represents a geospatial grid of 376 pixels by 326 rows with a 0.04-degree spatial resolution.

Use Cases

• Validating solar irradiance parameterizations in climate models based on the dataset's monthly surface flux calculations.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of solar energy at the surface for the eastern North Atlantic region in 1992.
• Studying cloud-radiation interactions for marine stratocumulus systems, a core goal of the FIRE program mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated NASA field experiment designed to improve climate model physics.
• Spatial resolution is explicitly defined as 0.04 degrees per pixel.
• Temporal coverage is clearly specified as monthly files for the year 1992.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description notes a discrepancy between the file header claiming two channels and documentation stating one channel, indicating potential data format inconsistencies.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Calculations based on observations by the METEOSAT satellite during the ASTEX field campaign.

Time Range

1992 (monthly files)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:55:48.758061; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern North Atlantic Ocean, based on the ASTEX field experiment location.