Downward PAR Solar Irradiance for Australia from Himawari Satellites

Integrated downward surface solar irradiance in the Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) spectral range (400-700 nm) for the Australian continent and surrounding waters. It is derived from daytime Himawari-8/9 satellite imagery using the Qin et al. (2021a) algorithm and is available in both regular latitude/longitude grids and the original geostationary projection.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial patterns of PAR irradiance across the Australian continent for ecological modeling.
• Validate and calibrate the Qin et al. (2021a) algorithm for PAR retrieval from Himawari-8/9 imagery.
• Study temporal changes in PAR for the Australian region using the geostationary satellite projection data.
• Integrate PAR data with other surface solar irradiance products from the Himawari collection for energy balance studies.

Strengths

• Derived from Himawari-8/9 geostationary satellites, providing consistent observation over the Australian region.
• Uses a peer-reviewed algorithm (Qin et al., 2021a) for generating the PAR product.
• Available in multiple spatial representations: regular latitude/longitude grid and the original satellite projection.

Limitations

• Data access requires contacting the authors and is hosted on the Australian National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), which may involve access procedures.
• The near-real-time processor is noted as 'currently being developed', suggesting potential latency or processing delays for the latest data.
• The product is specifically for the Australian region, limiting its geographic applicability.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery, derived from Himawari-8/9 satellite imagery.

Collection Method

Generated using the Qin et al. (2021a) algorithm applied to daytime Himawari-8/9 imagery.

Freshness

The metadata was last updated on 2026-03-20, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Australian continent and surrounding waters.