Assessment of the Long-Term High-Spatial-Resolution Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) Surface Longwave Radiation Product Using Ground Measurements

Abstract

In this article, we comprehensively assessed the newly released long-term high-spatial-resolution Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) surface longwave (LW) radiation product using site measurements of LW fluxes. In total, three years of ground-measured LW fluxes (surface longwave upward radiation (LWUP), surface longwave downward radiation (LWDN), and surface longwave net radiation (LWNR) collected from 141 sites in six independent networks (AmeriFlux, AsiaFlux, BSRN, CEOP, HiWATER-MUSOEXE, and TIPEX-III) are used to evaluate the GLASS LW radiation product. These sites cover various land cover types, surface elevations, and climatic types. According to the evaluation results, the biases are -4.33, -3.77, and 0.70 W/m2 and the RMSEs are 18.15, 26.94, and 26.70 W/m2 for clear-sky LWUP, LWDN, and LWNR, respectively. The GLASS LW radiation product performs well in climate-change-sensitive areas such as poleward areas, semiarid areas, and the “third pole”, namely, the Tibetan Plateau. The accuracy of the GLASS LW product is higher or comparable to that of available LW products and studies but has a high-spatial-resolution of 1 km and a time span of 19 years. In conclusion, the overall accuracy of the clear-sky GLASS LW radiation product can satisfy the requirements of the hydrological, meteorological, and agricultural research communities on a global scale. We will continue to improve the retrieval algorithms and update the products accordingly.

Keywords

• Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS)
• hybrid method
• longwave downward (LWDN)
• longwave net radiation (LWNR)
• longwave upward (LWUP)
• surface longwave (LW) radiation