Decadal variations in surface solar irradiance as observed in a globally remote network

Dutton, Ellsworth G; Nelson, Don; Stone, Robert S.; Longenecker, David; Carbaugh, Gloria; Harris, Joyce M.; Wendell, James

doi:10.1029/2005jd006901

Cited by 80 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…These type of methods have been used in many practical applications (e.g. Zhang et al, 2004;Dutton et al, 2006;Wild et al, 2006;and Hinkelman et al, 2009 M3: Missing data and data flagged in M2 were filled from an interpolated zenith angle-dependent fill dataset that was built from available observations from the same two-week interval in which the missing data are located. The fill data therefore account for both the diurnal (zenith angle) and seasonal variation.…”

Section: Methods For Monthly Mean Computationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Roesch et al: Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means to monitor changes in the radiation balance from both the surface and space. More and more studies, particularly those based on surface observations, present evidence that the radiative fluxes are not stable over time but undergo significant decadal variations (e.g., Gilgen et al, 1997;Stanhill and Cohen, 2001;Liepert, 2002;Dutton et al, 2006;Wild, 2009 and references therein), which may have major consequences for the climate system and climate change (Wild, 2009). However, all these analyses rely on data (typically monthly or yearly means), that have been aggregated in some way or another from incomplete raw data with much higher temporal resolution (typically minute to hourly).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In 2005, BSRN provides radiation data at almost 40 sites at high temporal frequency (time intervals of 1, 2, 3 or 5 min depending on site and period) and highest possible accuracy. The BSRN data have been successfully used in numerous scientific applications (e.g., Wild et al, 1995Wild et al, , 2005Dutton et al, 2006;Wild, 2008Wild, , 2009). This paper focuses on monthly means as this aggregation is widely used in numerous climatological analyses.…”

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Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means

et al. 2011

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Abstract. The integrity of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) radiation monthly averages are assessed by investigating the impact on monthly means due to the frequency of data gaps caused by missing or discarded high time resolution data. The monthly statistics, especially means, are considered to be important and useful values for climate research, model performance evaluations and for assessing the quality of satellite (time-and space-averaged) data products. The study investigates the spread in different algorithms that have been applied for the computation of monthly means from 1-min values.The paper reveals that the computation of monthly means from 1-min observations distinctly depends on the method utilized to account for the missing data. The intra-method difference generally increases with an increasing fraction of missing data. We found that a substantial fraction of the radiation fluxes observed at BSRN sites is either missing or flagged as questionable. The percentage of missing data is 4.4%, 13.0%, and 6.5% for global radiation, direct shortwave radiation, and downwelling longwave radiation, respectively. Most flagged data in the shortwave are due to nighttime instrumental noise and can reasonably be set to zero after correcting for thermal offsets in the daytime data. The study demonstrates that the handling of flagged data clearly impacts on monthly mean estimates obtained with different methods. We showed that the spread of monthly shortwave fluxes is generally clearly higher than for downwelling longwave radiation.Overall, BSRN observations provide sufficient accuracy and completeness for reliable estimates of monthly mean values. However, the value of future data could be further Correspondence to: A. Roesch (andreas.roesch@env.ethz.ch) increased by reducing the frequency of data gaps and the number of outliers. It is shown that two independent methods for accounting for the diurnal and seasonal variations in the missing data permit consistent monthly means to within less than 1 W m −2 in most cases. The authors suggest using a standardized method for the computation of monthly means which addresses diurnal variations in the missing data in order to avoid a mismatch of future published monthly mean radiation fluxes from BSRN.The application of robust statistics would probably lead to less biased results for data records with frequent gaps and/or flagged data and outliers. The currently applied empirical methods should, therefore, be completed by the development of robust methods.

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Section: Methods For Monthly Mean Computationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means

et al. 2011

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“…They are given in Table 2 and Figure 3. Although pyranometer records can be representative for a larger region (examples are given by Dutton et al [2006]), the spatial coverage of ground-based pyranometer records cannot compete with satellite records. Advantages of the pyranometer data are, however, (1) their reaching back in presatellite times and (2) their temporal stability due to slow but continuous improvements of instruments and calibration procedures over the observational period.…”

Section: Summary and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[6] As soon as pyranometer measurements for the 1990s had become available, the SWIR was reanalyzed: Wild et al [2005] found a widespread increase of SWIR since the late 1980s and Dutton et al [2006] found, in the period from 1976 through to 2004, a decrease followed by an increase in three records of SWIR (those for South Pole, American Samoa and Boulder, Colorado).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal changes in shortwave irradiance at the surface in the period from 1960 to 2000 estimated from Global Energy Balance Archive Data

Gilgen¹,

Roesch²,

Wild³

et al. 2009

J. Geophys. Res.

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Decadal changes in shortwave irradiance at the Earth's surface are estimated for the period from approximately 1960 through to 2000 from pyranometer records stored in the Global Energy Balance Archive. For this observational period, estimates could be calculated for a total of 140 cells of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project grid (an equal area 2.5° × 2.5° grid at the equator) using regression models allowing for station effects. In large regions worldwide, shortwave irradiance decreases in the first half of the observational period, recovers from the decrease in the 1980s, and thereafter increases, in line with previous reports. Years of trend reversals are determined for the grid cells which are best described with a second‐order polynomial model. This reversal of the trend is observed in the majority of the grid cells in the interior of Europe and in Japan. In China, shortwave irradiance recovers during the 1990s in the majority of the grid cells in the southeast and northeast from the decrease observed in the period from 1960 through to 1990. A reversal of the trend in the 1980s or early 1990s is also observed for two grid cells in North America, and for the grid cells containing the Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Casablanca (Morocco), Valparaiso (Chile) sites, and, noticeably, the remote South Pole and American Samoa sites. Negative trends persist, i.e., shortwave radiation decreases, for the observational period 1960 through to 2000 at the European coasts, in central and northwest China, and for three grid cells in India and two in Africa.

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Temporal solar radiation change at high elevations in Hawai‘i

et al. 2014

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Trends in downwelling global solar irradiance were evaluated at high-elevation sites on the island of Maui, Hawai'i. Departures from monthly means were assessed for the 6 month Hawaiian wet and dry seasons over the period 1988 to 2012. Linear regression analysis was used to characterize trends in each season. For the dry season (May-October), statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) positive trends of 9-18 W m À2 (3-6%) per decade were found at all four high-elevation stations tested. Wet season trends were not significant, except at the highest-elevation station, which had a significant negative trend. No consistent trends in aerosol concentrations have been observed at high elevations in Hawai'i; therefore, the observed dry season brightening is most likely the result of decreasing cloud cover. Supporting this hypothesis, analysis of 15 years (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) of high temporal resolution Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery over the Hawaiian Islands showed a statistically significant decrease in leeward cloud cover amounting to 5-11% per decade over the stations. In addition, analysis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data were in general agreement with the GOES trends, although statistically significant dry season trends were found at only one of the four stations.

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Decadal variations in surface solar irradiance as observed in a globally remote network

Cited by 80 publications

References 32 publications

Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means

Assessment of BSRN radiation records for the computation of monthly means

Decadal changes in shortwave irradiance at the surface in the period from 1960 to 2000 estimated from Global Energy Balance Archive Data

Temporal solar radiation change at high elevations in Hawai‘i

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