Radiation Energy Budget Studies Using Collocated AVHRR and ERBE Observations

Abstract

Changes in the energy balance at the top of the atmosphere are specified as a function of atmospheric and surface properties using observations from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVURR) and the Earth Radiation budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner. By collocating the observations from the two instruments, flown on NOAA-9, the authors take advantage of the remote-sensing capabilities of each instrument. The AVHRR spectral channels were selected based on regions that are strongly transparent to clear sky conditions and am therefore useful for characterizing both surface and cloud-top conditions. The ERBE instruments make broadband observations that an important for climate studies. The approach of collocating these observations in time and space is used to study the radiative energy budget of three geographic regions: oceanic, savanna, and desert.