Assessment of Three Satellite-Derived Surface Downward Longwave Radiation Products in Polar Regions

Abstract

The radiation budget in polar regions plays an important role in global climate change study. This study investigates the performance of downward longwave radiation (DLR) of three satellite radiation products in polar regions, including GEWEX-SRB, ISCCP-FD, and CERES-SYN. The RMSEs are 35.8, 40.5, and 26.9 W/m2 at all polar sites for GEWEX-SRB, ISCCP-FD, and CERES-SYN. The results in the Arctic are much better than those in the Antarctic, RMSEs of the three products are 34.7 W/m2, 36.0 W/m2, and 26.2 W/m2 in the Arctic and are 38.8 W/m2 and 54.8 W/m2, and 28.6 W/m2 in the Antarctic. Both GEWEX-SRB and CERES-SYN underestimate DLRs at most sites, while ISCCP-FD overestimates DLRs at most sites. CERES-SYN and GEWEX-SRB DLR products can capture most of the DLR seasonal variation in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Though CERES-SYN has the best results that RMSE within 30 W/m2 in most polar sites, the accuracy of satellite products in polar regions still cannot meet the requirement of climate research. The improvement of satellite DLR products in polar regions mainly depends on the quality of improving input atmospheric parameters, the accuracy of improving cloud detection over the snow and ice surface and cloud parameters, and better consideration of spatial resolution and heterogeneity.

Keywords

• downward longwave radiation
• polar regions
• GEWEX-SRB
• ISCCP-FD
• CERES-SYN