scholarly journals CERES Replacement “Libera” SI Traceable Measurement Spectral Calibration Concept using Direct Solar Views by High Resolution Earth Telescopes

Author(s):  
G. Matthews

AbstractBetter predictions of global warming can be enabled by tuning legacy and current computer simulations to Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) measurements. Since the 1970’s, such orbital results exist, and the next generation instruments called “Libera” are in design. Climate communities have requested that ERB observing system calibration accuracy obtain significantly better SI traceability and stability improvements. This is to prevent untracked instrument calibration drifts, that could lead to false conclusions on climate change. Based on experience from previous ERB missions, the concept presented here utilizes solar calibration for cloud size Earth measurement resolution, at ≪1% accuracy. However it neglects shown to be unsuccessful calibration technology like solar diffusers and on-board lights, as used by ERBE, ScaRaB, CERES, GERB & other Libera designs etc. New spectral characterizing concepts are therefore introduced. This allows in-flight wavelength dependent calibration of Earth observing Libera telescopes using direct solar views, through narrow-band filters continuously characterized on-orbit.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3379
Author(s):  
Steven Dewitte

The Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) at the top of the atmosphere describes how the Earth gains energy from the Sun and loses energy to space through the reflection of solar radiation and the emission of thermal radiation. The ERB is measured from space with dedicated remote sensing instruments. Its long-term monitoring is of fundamental importance for understanding climate change. This Special Issue contains contributions focusing on ERB remote sensing instruments for either (1) the establishment of past and current ERB Climate Data Records (CDRs), (2) insights in climate change gained from the analysis of ERB CDRs, and 3) the outlook for continued or improved future ERB monitoring.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piers Mde F. Forster ◽  
Jonathan M. Gregory

Abstract One of the major uncertainties in the ability to predict future climate change, and hence its impacts, is the lack of knowledge of the earth’s climate sensitivity. Here, data are combined from the 1985–96 Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) with surface temperature change information and estimates of radiative forcing to diagnose the climate sensitivity. Importantly, the estimate is completely independent of climate model results. A climate feedback parameter of 2.3 ± 1.4 W m−2 K−1 is found. This corresponds to a 1.0–4.1-K range for the equilibrium warming due to a doubling of carbon dioxide (assuming Gaussian errors in observable parameters, which is approximately equivalent to a uniform “prior” in feedback parameter). The uncertainty range is due to a combination of the short time period for the analysis as well as uncertainties in the surface temperature time series and radiative forcing time series, mostly the former. Radiative forcings may not all be fully accounted for; however, an argument is presented that the estimate of climate sensitivity is still likely to be representative of longer-term climate change. The methodology can be used to 1) retrieve shortwave and longwave components of climate feedback and 2) suggest clear-sky and cloud feedback terms. There is preliminary evidence of a neutral or even negative longwave feedback in the observations, suggesting that current climate models may not be representing some processes correctly if they give a net positive longwave feedback.


1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Paden ◽  
Dhirendra K. Pandey ◽  
Robert S. Wilson ◽  
Susan Thomas ◽  
Michael A. Gibson ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 240-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Parol ◽  
J. C. Buriez ◽  
D. Crétel ◽  
Y. Fouquart

Abstract. Through their multiple interactions with radiation, clouds have an important impact on the climate. Nonetheless, the simulation of clouds in climate models is still coarse. The present evolution of modeling tends to a more realistic representation of the liquid water content; thus the problem of its subgrid scale distribution is crucial. For a convective cloud field observed during ICE 89, Landsat TM data (resolution: 30m) have been analyzed in order to quantify the respective influences of both the horizontal distribution of liquid water content and cloud shape on the Earth radiation budget. The cloud field was found to be rather well-represented by a stochastic distribution of hemi-ellipsoidal clouds whose horizontal aspect ratio is close to 2 and whose vertical aspect ratio decreases as the cloud cell area increases. For that particular cloud field, neglecting the influence of the cloud shape leads to an over-estimate of the outgoing longwave flux; in the shortwave, it leads to an over-estimate of the reflected flux for high solar elevations but strongly depends on cloud cell orientations for low elevations. On the other hand, neglecting the influence of cloud size distribution leads to systematic over-estimate of their impact on the shortwave radiation whereas the effect is close to zero in the thermal range. The overall effect of the heterogeneities is estimated to be of the order of 10 W m-2 for the conditions of that Landsat picture (solar zenith angle 65°, cloud cover 70%); it might reach 40 W m-2 for an overhead sun and overcast cloud conditions.


1977 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 306 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. L. Smith ◽  
J. Hickey ◽  
H. B. Howell ◽  
H. Jacobowitz ◽  
D. T. Hilleary ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Luca Schifano ◽  
Lien Smeesters ◽  
Wendy Meulebroeck ◽  
Francis Berghmans ◽  
Steven Dewitte

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