FY-3A Satellite Solar Irradiance Measurements At Average Sun-Earth Distance

Level 1 data from the FY-3A satellite's Solar Irradiance Measurement (SIM) instrument, providing corrected and geolocated solar irradiance observations. The dataset contains measurements of total solar irradiance across the 0.2-50 mm wavelength band, normalized to the average sun-earth distance. Data originates from the SCIOPS organization and is collected when the satellite scans the sun near the Earth's north pole.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in total solar irradiance from the geolocated time-series data.
• Correlate solar irradiance measurements with other atmospheric datasets using the provided geolocation information.
• Validate and calibrate climate models using the corrected solar irradiance values at the average sun-earth distance.
• Study the spectral characteristics of solar output within the 0.2-50 mm band from the SIM instrument observations.

Strengths

• Data is corrected and geolocated from the original satellite transmission.
• Provides solar irradiance values normalized to a standard average sun-earth distance.
• Covers a broad spectral range of 0.2 to 50 mm.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage, row count, and spatial resolution are unknown.
• The dataset description lacks details on data format, sampling frequency, and file size.
• Potential limitations in data continuity or completeness are not specified.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata (platform), SCIOPS (organization).

Collection Method

Satellite observations from the Solar Irradiance Measurement (SIM) instrument onboard the FY-3A satellite, corrected and geolocated from ground system transmissions.

Geography

Global observations, with specific data collection triggered when the satellite scans the sun near the Earth's north pole.