The Performance of Downward Shortwave Radiation Products from Satellite and Reanalysis over the Transect of Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica

The downward shortwave radiation(DSR) is an important part of the Earth's energy balance, driving Earth's system's energy, water, and carbon cycles. Due to the harsh Antarctic environment, the accuracy of DSR derived from satellite and reanalysis has not been systematically evaluated over the transect of Zhongshan station to Dome A, East Antarctica.Therefore, this study aims to evaluate DSR reanalysis products(ERA5-Land, ERA5, MERRA-2) and satellite products(CERES and ICDR) in this area. The results indicate that DSR exhibits obvious monthly and seasonal variations, with higher values in summer than in winter. The ERA5-Land(ICDR) DSR product demonstrated the highest(lowest) accuracy,as evidenced by a correlation coefficient of 0.988(0.918), a root-mean-square error of 23.919(69.383) W m^(–2), a mean bias of –1.667(–28.223) W m^(–2) and a mean absolute error of 13.37(58.99) W m^(–2). The RMSE values for the ERA5-Land reanalysis product at seven stations, namely Zhongshan, Panda 100, Panda 300, Panda 400, Taishan, Panda 1100, and Kunlun, were 30.938, 29.447, 34.507, 29.110, 20.339, 17.267, and 14.700 W m^(-2), respectively;with corresponding bias values of 9.887, –12.159, –19.181, –15.519, –8.118, 6.297, and 3.482 W m^(–2). Regarding seasonality, ERA5-Land, ERA5,and MERRA-2 reanalysis products demonstrate higher accuracies during spring and summer, while ICDR products are least accurate in autumn. Cloud cover, water vapor, total ozone, and severe weather are the main factors affecting DSR. The error of DSR products is greatest in coastal areas(particularly at the Zhongshan station) and decreases towards the inland areas of Antarctica.

Validation of Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) Downward Shortwave Radiation Product in the Rugged Surface

The downward shortwave radiation(DSR) is an essential parameter of land surface radiation budget and many land surface models that characterize hydrological,ecological and biogeochemical processes.The new Global LAnd Surface Satellite(GLASS) DSR datasets have been generated recently using multiple satellite data in China.This study investigates the performances of direct comparison approach,which is mostly used for validation of surface insolation retrieved from satellite data over the plain area,and indirect comparison approach,which needs a fine resolution map of DSR as reference,for validation of GLASS DSR product in time-steps of 1 and 3 hours over three Chinese Ecosystem Research Network sites located in the rugged surface.Results suggest that it probably has a large uncertainty to assess GLASS DSR product using the direct comparison method between GLASS surface insolation and field measurements over complex terrain,especially at Mt.Gongga 3,000 m station with root mean square error of 279.04 and 229.06 W/m2in time-steps of 1 and 3 hours,respectively.Further improvement for validation of GLASS DSR product in the rugged surface is suggested by generation of a fine resolution map of surface insolation and comparison of the aggregated fine resolution map with GLASS product in the rugged surface.The validation experience demonstrates that the GLASS DSR algorithm is satisfactory with determination coefficient of 0.83 and root mean square error of 81.91W/m2over three Chinese Ecosystem Research Network sites,although GLASS product overestimates DSR compared to the aggregated fine resolution map of surface insolation.

Time-series variation and attribution analysis of downward shortwave radiation over the Yunnan-Kweichow plateau from 1984 to 2018

The downward shortwave radiation(DSR)is a key input parameter for land surface models and climate models.Based on the daily averaged Global Land Surface Satellite downward shortwave radiation(GLASS-DSR)dataset over the Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau(YKP)from 1984 to 2018,this paper analyzes variation trend and breakpoints of DSR.The results show that:annual averaged DSR decreases at a decreasing rate of-1.84 W·m^(-2)·decade^(-1) over the YKP from 1984 to 2018;the overall distribution of interannual averaged DSR shows higher in the mid-west,and gradually decreasing from west to northeast over the YKP;the estimated averaged DSR is larger in spring than in summer due to the influence of the monsoon;monthly averaged DSR reaches its maximum in May and its minimum in December;breakpoints are found in the seasonal and trend components of daily averaged DSR.Eleven driving factors are examined for their effects on DSR variation,including annual average temperature,precipitation,10 m wind speed,aerosol optical thickness(AOT),total cloud cover,elevation,slope,aspect,longitude,latitude,and climate zones.According to thefindings,AOT predominates in the spatio-temporal distribution of DSR over the YKP.This study will contribute to studies related to climate change and highland radiation.

Evaluation and intercomparison of multiple satellite-derived and reanalysis downward shortwave radiation products in China

Downward shortwave radiation(DSR)is a critical variable in energy balance driving Earth’s surface processes.Satellite-derived and reanalysis DSR products have been developed and continuously improved during the last decades.However,as those products have different temporal resolutions,their performances in different time scales have not been well-documented,particularly in China.This study intended to evaluate several DSR products across multiple time scales(i.e.instantaneous,1-hourly,daily,and monthly average)and ecosystems in China.Six DSR products,including GLASS,BESS,CLARA-A2,MCD18A1,ERA5 and MERRA-2,were evaluated against ground measurements at Chinese Ecosystem Research Network(CERN)and integrated land-atmosphere interaction observation(TPDC)sites from 2009 to 2012.The instantaneous DSR of MCD18 showed a root mean square error(RMSE)of 146.02 W/m^(2).The hourly RMSE of ERA5(155.52 W/m^(2))was largely smaller than MERRA-2(188.53 W/m^(2)).On the daily and monthly scale,BESS had the most optimized accuracy among the six products(RMSE of 36.82 W/m^(2)).For the satellite-derived DSR products,the monthly accuracy at CERN can meet the threshold accuracy requirement set by World Meteorological Organization(WMO)for Global Numerical Weather Prediction(20 W/m^(2)).

Performance of surface radiation products of Greenland Ice Sheet using in-situ measurements

Radiation is the direct energy source of the surface natural environment and the main driving force of climate change.It has increasingly become an important meteorological factor affecting the surface heat exchange and glacier mass balance,especially in the glacier changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet(Gr IS).Due to the harsh climatic conditions of Gr IS and sparse observed data,it has become an important way to obtain radiation data from reanalysis datasets.However,the applicability of these radiation data on Gr IS is uncertain and worth exploring.In this work,we evaluate five reanalysis datasets(the fifth generation of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ERA5),European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis(ERA-Interim),Japanese 55-year Reanalysis(JRA55),National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis II(NCEP2)and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications,Version 2(MERRA-2))during 1997-2022 using observations from 26 Program for Monitoring the Greenland Ice Sheet(PROMICE)automatic weather stations(AWSs)and 3 K-transect AWSs on Gr IS.The conclusions are as follows:ERA5 has the best performances in downward shortwave radiation(SWD)as well as downward and upward longwave radiation(LWD and LWU),but the performance is not the best in upward shortwave radiation(SWU).Based on the radiation budget analysis with ERA5 during 1979-2022,the fluctuation of longwave radiation is greater than that of shortwave radiation.The seasonal variation of shortwave radiation is obvious,while that of longwave radiation is small.The increasing trend of longwave radiation may result from global warming,in which ice sheets absorb more solar radiation and the surface heats up significantly,emitting more LWU.

Accurate Shortwave Radiation Simulation with a Two-Layer Aerosol Model in Xinjiang Region

To harness the rich solar energy resources in Xinjiang Region of Northwest China,this study tries to address the issue of lack of downward surface shortwave radiation(DSSR)observations and the need to improve the accuracy of satellite retrieval and numerical simulation of DSSR under varied sky and meteorological conditions.(1)A two-layer aerosol model specific to Xinjiang was developed to capture the vertical distributions of aerosols based on multiple data sources including lidar,GPS sounding,ground meteorological observations,and profiles from the ECMWF reanalysis version 5(ERA5)data.The results show that the ERA5/PBLH(planetary boundary layer height)and ERA5/ALH(aerosol layer height)could be used to establish the two-layer aerosol model and characterize the vertical distribution of aerosols in Xinjiang Region.(2)Using the Santa Barbara Discrete Atmospheric Radiative Transfer(SBDART)model,a localized inverse model of clear-sky DSSR was established.After parameter adjustment and using the optimal combination of input parameters for DSSR simulation together with the two-layer aerosol model,the model-simulated DSSR(DSSRSBD)under clear-sky conditions improved significantly compared to the initial results,with all fitting indices greatly improved.(3)In addition,the study demonstrated that the impact of the two-layer aerosol model on DSSR was more pronounced under dust conditions than clear-sky conditions.(4)Using the localized clear-sky DSSR inversion model and its required parameters,simulations were also conducted to capture the spatiotemporal distribution of DSSR under clear-sky conditions in Xinjiang from 2017 to 2019.The annual average DSSR_(SBD)under clear-sky conditions in Xinjiang during 2017–2019 was 606.78 W m^(-2),while DSSR from CERES(DSSR_(CER))under the same conditions was generally higher(703.95 W m^(-2)).(5)It is found that satellite remote sensing products experienced data loss in high-altitude snow areas,where numerical simulation technology could serve as a valuable complement.

A review and comparison of surface incident shortwave radiation from multiple data sources: satellite retrievals, reanalysis data and GCM simulations

Surface incident shortwave radiation(Rs)can promote the circulation of substance and energy,and the accuracy of its estimation is of great significance for climate studies.The Rs can be acquired from satellite retrievals,reanalysis predictions and general circulation model(GCM)simulations.Although Rs estimates have been evaluated and compared in previous studies,most of them focus on evaluating the Rs estimates over specific regions using ground measurements from limited stations.Therefore,it is essential to comprehensively validate Rs estimates from multiple data sources.In this study,ground measurements of 690 stations from BSRN,GEBA,CMA,GC-NET and buoys were employed to validate the Rs estimates from seven representative products(GLASS,GEWEX-SRB,CERES-EBAF,ERA5,MERRA2,CFSR and CMIP6).The validation results indicated that the selected products overestimated Rs globally,with biases ranged from 0.48 to 21.27 W/m^(2).The satellite retrievals showed relatively better accuracy among seven datasets compared to ground measurements at the selected stations.Moreover,the selected seven products were all in poor accuracy at high-latitude regions with RMSEs greater than 50 W/m^(2).The long-term variation trends were also analyzed in this study.

A review of the estimation of downward surface shortwave radiation based on satellite data:Methods, progress and problems

The estimation of downward surface shortwave radiation(DSSR)is important for the Earth’s energy budget and climate change studies.This review was organised from the perspectives of satellite sensors,algorithms and future trends,retrospects and summaries of the satellite-based retrieval methods of DSSR that have been developed over the past 10 years.The shortwave radiation reaching the Earth’s surface is affected by both atmospheric and land surface parameters.In recent years,studies have given detailed considerations to the factors which affect DSSR.It is important to improve the retrieval accuracy of cloud microphysical parameters and aerosols and to reduce the uncertainties caused by complex topographies and high-albedo surfaces(such as snow-covered areas)on DSSR estimation.This review classified DSSR retrieval methods into four categories:empirical,parameterisation,look-up table and machine-learning methods,and evaluated their advantages,disadvantages and accuracy.Further efforts are needed to improve the calculation accuracy of atmospheric parameters such as cloud,haze,water vapor and other land surface parameters such as albedo of complex terrain and bright surface,organically combine machine learning and other methods,use the new-generation geostationary satellite and polar orbit satellite data to produce highresolution DSSR products,and promote the application of radiation products in hydrological and climate models.

Radiative forcing over China due to albedo change caused by land cover change during 1990-2010

Land cover change affects surface radiation budget and energy balance by chang- ing surface albedo and further impacts the regional and global climate. In this article, high spatial and temporal resolution satellite products were used to analyze the driving mechanism for surface albedo change caused by land cover change during 1990-2010. In addition, the annual-scale radiative forcing caused by surface albedo changes in China＇s 50 ecological regions were calculated to reveal the biophysical mechanisms of land cover change affecting climate change at regional scale. Our results showed that the national land cover changes were mainly caused by land reclamation, grassland desertification and urbanization in past 20 years, which were almost induced by anthropogenic activities. Grassland and forest area decreased by 0.60% and 0.11%, respectively. The area of urban and farmland increased by 0.60% and 0.19%, respectively. The mean radiative forcing caused by land cover changes during 1990-2010 was 0.062 W/m2 in China, indicating a warming climate effect. However, spatial heterogeneity of radiative forcing was huge among different ecological regions. Farmland conversing to urban construction land, the main type of land cover change for the urban and suburban agricultural ecological region in Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, caused an albedo reduction by 0.00456 and a maximum positive radiative forcing of 0.863 WIm2, which was presented as warming climate effects. Grassland and forest conversing to farmland, the main type of land cover change for the temperate humid agricultural and wetland ecological region in Sanjiang Plain, caused an albedo increase by 0.00152 and a maximum negative radiative forcing of 0.184 W/m2, implying cooling climate effects.