Estimation of Net Radiation From the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Over the Continental United States

Net radiation, at the Earth´s surface, is a key variable of interest in fields such as hydrology, climate research, and agriculture. Retrieval algorithms for estimation of the surface radiation budget (SRB) from remote sensing data generally suffer from two major shortcomings: difficulty in dealing with cloudy-sky conditions and reliance on study-site specific ancillary ground data. In this paper, we use the methodology of Bisht and Bras (BB10) to estimate SRB and its components, using only remote sensing data under all sky conditions. The BB10 framework is applied over seven sites of the Surface Radiation Budget network in the CONtinental United States (CONUS), along with 21 sites of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program in the Southern Great Plains. The data from both the Aqua and Terra satellites are used for entire 2006. The study examines instantaneous upwelling and downwelling shortwave, longwave, net shortwave, and net radiations, as well as daily average net shortwave and net radiations. The root-mean-square errors of estimated daily average net radiation and daily average net shortwave radiation when compared to ground observations are 52.42 and 52.21 W · m^-2, respectively. An example of the retrieved instantaneous and daily average net radiation is also presented, which highlights the limitation of using only polar-orbiting satellite data in estimating the diurnal cycle of net radiation. Two adaptations to the algorithm are presented that make the production of SRB estimates over the CONUS feasible. Finally, the methodology is applied to produce daily SRB maps for the CONUS, and monthly SRB maps are presented.