Solar Irradiance
extract_solar_v1.5
November 2019
- Extended solar irradiance dataset to 86500 cm-1 (M. Iacono)
extract_solar_v1.4.1
August 2017
- Minor fixes to code and documentation. (M. Iacono)
extract_solar_v1.4
March 2017
A solar irradiance dataset based on the NRLSSI2 model (Lean and Woods, 2010) has been implemented -- we recommend that
users use this implementation. NRLSSI2 models solar variability, and AER's extract_solar package, used in conjunction
with LBLRTM, now allows a number of options to handle variability consistent with NRLSSI2. To this end, extract_solar now
includes a new database that consists of three components:
- a component that does not vary with solar cycle, constructed by merging functions from two separate spectral
regions that together span the 100-50000 cm-1 at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1: 1) from 4000-14800 cm-1, the
high-resolution solar transmittance data from Toon scaled to be consistent with the coarser irradiance values of NRLSSI2; 2) from
100-4000 cm-1 and 14800-50000 cm-1, the high-resolution Kurucz irradiance values scaled to be consistent with the coarser
irradiance values of NRLSSI2.
- NRLSSI2 facular brightening component at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1. This component varies with solar
cycle. The high-resolution values, when integrated in each NRLSSI2 channel, reproduce the respective NRLSSI2
irradiance values.
- NRLSSI2 sunspot darkening component at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1. This component varies with solar
cycle. The high-resolution values, when integrated in each NRLSSI2 channel, reproduce the respective NRLSSI2
irradiance values.
These latter two terms are stored for average solar activity conditions for Solar Cycles 13-24 (from NRLSSI2).
The extract_solar package also has a database that consists of the sum of these three components. We recommend
that users
not interested in solar variability use the option that is based on this combined database.
extract_solar can generate a binary (SOLAR.RAD) or ascii file that utilizes this combined database.
Alternatively, the code will extract (in binary or ascii) all three of the individual components, which can be combined in multiple ways
when running LBLRTM (see extract_solar and LBLRTM instructions).
The code retains its previous capability to generate a binary or ascii file based on the high-resolution Kurucz
database (50-50000 cm-1) (Kurucz, 1992).
extract_solar_v1.3
May 2004
The solar source function is described in: Kurucz, R.L., Synthetic infrared spectra, in Infrared Solar
Physics, IAU Symp. 154, edited by D.M. Rabin and J.T. Jefferies, Kluwer, Acad., Norwell, MA, 1992.
Atmospheric and Environmental Research