Nimbus-7 Satellite Total Solar Irradiance Measurements

NIMBUS7_ERB_Ch10C_TSI_NAT contains Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) data from the Nimbus-7 Earth Radiation Budget satellite's Channel 10C sensor. The dataset is provided in its native format by the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC). Data collection concluded, with the last recorded update in December 1993.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) values over the satellite's operational period.
• Correlate TSI measurements with other atmospheric datasets using the native timestamp data.
• Validate and calibrate newer solar irradiance models against this historical satellite record.
• Study solar variability by examining the time-series of Channel 10C sensor readings.

Strengths

• Data originates from the Nimbus-7 satellite, a stabilized earth-observation platform.
• Provides foundational TSI measurements from a key historical satellite mission.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in 1993.
• The native (NAT) format may require specialized parsing tools or documentation.
• Specific data volume, row count, and temporal range are not provided.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).

Collection Method

Collected by the Channel 10C (Ch10C) sensor aboard the polar-orbiting Nimbus-7 Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) satellite.

Geography

Global coverage from a polar-orbiting satellite.