GEWEX SRB Land-Only Longwave Radiation Fluxes 1983-2009

Land-only global fields of 26 longwave radiative parameters derived from the GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget Project. The dataset provides monthly average fluxes for land surfaces from July 1983 to December 1987, with ancillary input data extending from January 1988 to December 2009. It is produced by NASA's GEWEX SRB Project using inputs from ISCCP, MERRA-2, and other satellite and reanalysis sources.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) over land using the all-sky, clear-sky, and pristine-sky TOA upward flux columns.
• Validating climate model simulations of atmospheric profiles by comparing with upward/downward fluxes at tropopause, 200hPa, 500hPa, and surface levels.
• Investigating cloud-radiative interactions using ancillary data on cloud fraction, optical depth, and cloud top pressure/temperature.
• Assessing surface energy balance components by examining downward and upward longwave radiative fluxes at the land surface.
• Studying the impact of atmospheric constituents like precipitable water and ozone on longwave radiation using the ancillary input parameters.

Strengths

• Provides 26 distinct longwave radiative parameters, including fluxes at multiple atmospheric levels and under different sky conditions.
• Ancillary data spans 22 years (1988-2009), offering a long-term context for the core 4.5-year flux record (1983-1987).
• Integrates inputs from multiple authoritative sources including ISCCP cloud data and MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Limitations

• Core longwave flux data covers only a 4.5-year period (July 1983–December 1987), limiting long-term trend analysis with the primary product.
• Specific column names and row counts are not provided by any source, hindering precise technical assessment.
• Conflicting license information: datagov specifies 'other-license-specified', while nasa_earthdata lists null.

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 the Longwave algorithm with inputs from ISCCP HXS (clouds), ISCCP nnHIRS (meteorology), Landflux surface, and conditionally from MERRA-2.

Time Range

July 1983 through December 2009 (core fluxes: 1983-1987; ancillary: 1988-2009).

Freshness

Metadata was last updated on datagov on 2026-03-13, though the data collection is complete as of 2009.

Geography

Global, land-only.