Assessment of surface solar irradiance retrieved by CERES

Resumen

This study compared and evaluated the monthly global solar radiation generated by Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) with the surface radiation registered in 232 meteorological stations located in whole Spain, for the period of July 2006-July 2015. Results showed strong correlations between CERES and registered data with R-2 values greater than 0.96, for all stations considered. When the temporal evolution of recorded and provided by CERES solar radiation was analysed, a systematic overestimation by CERES was detected from July 2011, although the shapes of both curves were respected in the whole period. This finding led us to propose a linear adjustment model since July 2011. After applying the developed model to rescale CERES data for the whole period, an improvement in solar radiation fit was observed. Our finding offers an insight into error patterns of CERES solar radiation, since July 2011, and proposes a model for improving accuracy allowing therefore a reliable use of this product. Moreover, our study on radiation data of Spain provides a case example for worldwide validation.