TCTE3TSI6: Total Solar Irradiance 6-Hour Averages from the TCTE Mission

TCTE3TSI6 Version 004 provides the final, 6-hour averaged measurements of total solar irradiance from the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument on the TCTE satellite. The data, normalized to 1 astronomical unit, cover the full mission from December 2013 to June 2019, with a designed absolute accuracy of 350 ppm and long-term relative accuracy of 10 ppm per year. The entire mission's science results are delivered in a single ASCII column-formatted file for ease of use.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating climate models based on precise solar energy input measurements.
• Analyzing long-term solar variability trends using the 6-hour averaged time-series data.
• Cross-calibrating solar irradiance records with overlapping data from the SORCE TIM instrument.
• Studying the impact of solar cycles on Earth's upper atmosphere energy budget.

Strengths

• Represents the final, authoritative version (V004) of this data product, superseding all previous versions.
• Provides high-precision measurements with a specified absolute accuracy of 350 ppm and long-term relative accuracy of 10 ppm per year.
• Covers a significant temporal range from mission start in December 2013 to end on June 30, 2019.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact file size are unknown across all sources.
• A period of weekly measurements from May to December 2014 subsamples true solar variability, reducing its value for detailed solar research.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2019-05 15 and 2026-04-09), creating uncertainty about recent maintenance.

Provenance

Source

GES_DISC, NASA

Collection Method

Data collected by the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), an ambient temperature active cavity radiometer, on the TCTE satellite.

Time Range

December 2013 to June 30, 2019

Freshness

2026-04 09 21:52:03.812921

Geography

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