Shortwave radiance to irradiance conversion for earth radiation budget satellite observations: a review
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Observing the Earth radiation budget (ERB) from satellites is crucial for monitoring and understanding Earth’s climate. One of the major challenges for ERB observations, particularly for reflected shortwave radiation, is the conversion of the measured radiance to the more energetically relevant quantity of radiative flux, or irradiance. This conversion depends on the solar-viewing geometry and the scene composition associated with each instantaneous observation. We first outline the theoretical basis for algorithms to convert shortwave radiance to irradiance, most commonly known as empirical angular distribution models (ADMs). We then review the progression from early ERB satellite observations that applied relatively simple ADMs, to current ERB satellite observations that apply highly sophisticated ADMs. A notable development is the dramatic increase in the number of scene types, made possible by both the extended observational record and the enhanced scene information now available from collocated imager information. Compared with their predecessors, current shortwave ADMs result in a more consistent average albedo as a function of viewing zenith angle and lead to more accurate instantaneous and mean regional irradiance estimates. One implication of the increased complexity is that the algorithms may not be directly applicable to observations with insufficient accompanying imager information, or for existing or new satellite instruments where detailed scene information is not available. Recent advances that complement and build on the base of current approaches, including machine learning applications and semi-physical calculations, are highlighted.
Date Issued
2021-07
Date Acceptance
2021-06-29
Citation
Remote Sensing, 2021, 13 (13)
ISSN
2072-4292
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Remote Sensing
Volume
13
Issue
13
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000670953300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=a2bf6146997ec60c407a63945d4e92bb
Subjects
angular distribution model
ANGULAR-DISTRIBUTION MODELS
CERES
CLOUDS
ENERGY SYSTEM INSTRUMENT
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
FLUX ESTIMATION
Geology
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
IDENTIFICATION
Imaging Science & Photographic Technology
irradiance
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
MEASURING MISSION SATELLITE
OUTGOING RADIATION
PART II
Physical Sciences
radiance
Remote Sensing
Science & Technology
shortwave radiation
Technology
TERRA SATELLITE
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 2640
Date Publish Online
2021-07-05