GEWEX SRB Rel-4: Global Surface Radiation Budget Daily Averages

NASA's GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget Release 4-Integrated Product provides a 34-year global record of shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes derived from satellite observations. The dataset includes 11 shortwave and 26 longwave parameters, such as all-sky, clear-sky, and pristine-sky fluxes at the surface and top of atmosphere. Inputs combine cloud data from ISCCP, aerosols from MAC V1, and meteorology from multiple reanalysis products.

Use Cases

• Validating climate model radiative transfer schemes based on observed all-sky and clear-sky fluxes.
• Analyzing trends in surface Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) for ecological studies.
• Calculating cloud radiative forcing using the provided upward and downward flux components.
• Assessing the atmospheric heating rate profile using longwave fluxes at multiple pressure levels.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from July 1983 through June 2017 for shortwave data.
• Integrates multiple authoritative input sources including ISCCP, SORCE TIM, and MERRA-2.
• Provides both global fields and a land-only variant for specific longwave parameters.

Limitations

• Sources conflict on temporal coverage: longwave land-only data is listed as ending in December 1987, while shortwave data extends to June 2017.
• Key column names and exact data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• The longwave land-only product is described as an extension due to a missing key input from the main dataset.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) World Climate Research Programme/Global Energy and Water-Cycle Experiment (WCRP/GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Project.

Collection Method

Derived using Shortwave and Longwave algorithms applied to satellite and reanalysis inputs including ISCCP HXS cloud data, ISCCP nnHIRS precipitable water, SORCE TIM solar irradiance, and MAC V1 aerosols.

Time Range

July 1983 through June 2017 (with a conflicting subset for longwave land-only data ending December 1987).

Freshness

Metadata was last updated on April 10, 2026, though data collection is complete.

Geography

Global, with a land-only variant for longwave parameters.