The UK hourly solar radiation data contain the amount of solar irradiance received during the hour ending at the specified time. All sites report 'global' radiation amounts. This is also known as 'total sky radiation' as it includes both direct solar irradiance and 'diffuse' irradiance as a result of light scattering. Some sites also provide separate diffuse and direct irradiation amounts, depending on the instrumentation at the site. For these the sun's path is tracked with two pyrometers - one where the path to the sun is blocked by a suitable disc to allow the scattered sunlight to be measured to give the diffuse measurement, while the other has a tube pointing at the sun to measure direct solar irradiance whilst blanking out scattered sun light.

For details about the different measurements made and the limited number of sites making them please see the MIDAS Solar Irradiance table linked to in the online resources section of this record.

This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. These include the addition of data for calendar year 2021.

The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: SYNOP, HCM, AWSHRLY, MODLERAD, ESAWRADT and DRADR35 messages. The data spans from 1947 to 2021.

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by the Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record.

Total solar irradiance is the primary energy source of the Earth’s climate system and therefore its variations can contribute to natural climate change. This variability is characterized by, among other manifestations, decadal and secular oscillations, which has led to several attempts to estimate future solar activity. Of particular interest now is the fact that the behavior of the solar cycle 23 minimum has shown an activity decline not previously seen in past cycles for which spatial observations exist: this could be signalling the start of a new grand solar minimum. The estimation of solar activity for the next hundred years is one of the current problems in solar physics because the possible occurrence of a future grand solar minimum will probably have an impact on the Earth’s climate. In this study, using the PMOD and ACRIM TSI composites, we have attempted to estimate the TSI index from year 1000 AD to 2100 AD based on the Least Squares Support Vector Machines, which is applied here for the first time to estimate a solar index. Using the wavelet transform, we analyzed the behavior of the total solar irradiance time series before and after the solar grand minima. Depending on the composite used, PMOD (or ACRIM), we found a grand minimum for the 21st century, starting in 2004 (or 2002) and ending in 2075 (or 2063), with an average irradiance of 1365.5 (or 1360.5) Wm 2 1r 1⁄4 0:3 (or 0.9) Wm 2 . Moreover, we calculated an average radiative forcing between the present and the 21st century minima of 0:1 (or 0.2) Wm 2, with an uncertainty range of 0:04 to 0:14 (or 0:12 to 0:33) Wm 2. As an indicator of the TSI level, we calculated its annual power anomalies; in particular, future solar cycles from 24 to 29 have lower power anomalies compared to the present, for both models. We also found that the solar activity grand minima periodicity is of 120 years; this periodicity could possibly be one of the principal periodicities of the magnetic solar activity not so previously well recognized. The negative (positive) 120-year phase coincides with the grand minima (maxima) of the 11-year periodicity.

Climatological data were collected from a ridgetop climate station east of Niwot Ridge (B1 at 2591 m) throughout the year using an Omnidata DP219 datapod. This instrument has a sample interval of 10 minutes and maximum and minimum values are instantaneously recorded. Averages are means of 144 values and totals are totals of 144 values. Parameters measured were evapotranspiration, solar radiation, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and mean temperature.

Note: This dataset version has been superseded by a newer version. It is highly recommended that users access the current version. Users should only use this version for special cases, such as reproducing studies that used this version. This Climate Data Record (CDR) contains total solar irradiance (TSI) as a function of time created with the Naval Research Laboratory model for spectral and total irradiance (version 2). Total solar irradiance is the total, spectrally integrated energy input to the top of the Earth's atmosphere, at a standard distance of one Astronomical Unit from the Sun. Its units are W per m2. The dataset was created by Judith Lean (Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory), Odele Coddington and Peter Pilewskie (Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Science, University of Colorado). The daily- and monthly-averaged TSI data range from 1882 to the present, and annual-averaged TSI data begin in 1610. The data file format is netCDF-4 following CF metadata conventions. The dataset is accompanied by algorithm documentation, data flow diagram and source code for the NOAA CDR Program.

This dataset provides historical values of global, direct and diffuse solar irradiation, as well as direct normal irradiation, on a latitude/longitude grid covering land surfaces and coastal areas of Europe, Africa, Oceania, Eastern South America, the Middle East and South-East Asia. It is created from 15 minute resolved timeseries at each grid point. These timeseries were calculated by the CAMS Solar Radiation Time Series Service and use information on aerosol, ozone and water vapour from the CAMS global forecasting system. Other properties, such as ground albedo and ground elevation, are also taken into account. Data is provided for both clear-sky and observed cloud conditions. For cloudy conditions high-resolution cloud information is directly inferred from satellite observations provided by the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) and Himawari 8 satellites. It is the Himawari satellite that provides the Asian coverage, which is only available from 2016 and v4.6 (rev2) onwards. The aim of the dataset is to fulfil the needs of European and national policy development and the requirements of both commercial and public downstream services, e.g. for planning, monitoring, efficiency improvements and the integration of solar energy systems into energy supply grids. Data is offered in monthly netCDF formatted files.

We present a new set of solar radiation forcing that now incorporated not only the gravitational perturbation of the Sun-Earth-Moon geometrical orbits but also the intrinsic solar magnetic modulation of the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). This new dataset, covering the past 2000 years as well as a forward projection for about 100 years based on recent result by Velasco-Herrera et al. (2015, doi:10.1016/j.newast.2014.07.009), should provide a realistic basis to examine and evaluate the role of external solar forcing on Earth climate on decadal, multidecadal to multicentennial timescales. A second goal of this paper is to propose both in-situ insolation forcing variable and the latitudinal insolation gradients (LIG) as two key metrics that are subjected to a deterministic modulation by lunar nodal cycle which are often confused with tidal forcing impacts as assumed and interpreted in previous studies of instrumental and paleoclimatic records.

Data on daily global solar radiation (Please visit the reference link for other climate information). The multiple file formats are available for datasets download in API.

The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) is a serially complete collection of meteorological and solar irradiance data sets for the United States and a growing list of international locations for 1998-2023. The NSRDB is updated annually and provides foundational information to support U.S. Department of Energy programs, research, industry and the general public. The NSRDB provides time-series data at 30-minute resolution of resource averaged over surface cells of 0.038 degrees in both latitude and longitude, or nominally 4 km in size. Additionally time series data at 5 minutes for the US and 10 minutes for North, Central and South America at 2 km resolution are produced from the next generation of GOES satellites and made available from 2019. The solar radiation values represent the resource available to solar energy systems. The data was created using cloud properties which are generated using the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres-Extended (PATMOS-x) algorithms developed by the University of Wisconsin. Fast all-sky radiation model for solar applications (FARMS) in conjunction with the cloud properties, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) from ancillary source are used to estimate solar irradiance (GHI, DNI, and DHI). The Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) is computed for clear skies using the REST2 model. For cloud scenes identified by the cloud mask, FARMS is used to compute GHI and FARMS DNI is used to compute the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI). The PATMOS-X model uses radiance images in visible and infrared channels from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series of geostationary weather satellites. Ancillary variables needed to run REST2 and FARMS (e.g., aerosol optical depth, precipitable water vapor, and albedo) are derived from NASA's Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis (MERRA-2) dataset. Temperature and wind speed data are also derived from MERRA-2 and provided for use in NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to compute PV generation.

This data provides monthly average daily total solar resource averaged over surface cells of 0.038 degrees in both latitude and longitude, or nominally 4 km in size. The solar radiation values represent the resource available to solar energy systems. The data was created using cloud properties which are generated using the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres-Extended (PATMOS-x) algorithms. Fast all-sky radiation model for solar applications (FARMS) in conjunction with the cloud properties, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) from ancillary source are used to estimate direct normal irradiance (DNI) and global horizontal irradiance (GHI). The DNI and GHI are computed for clear skies using the REST2 model. For cloud scenes identified by the cloud mask, the FARMS is used to compute the GHI. The DNI for cloud scenes is then computed using the DISC model. The data are averaged from hourly model output over 19 years (1998-2016). The PATMOS-X model uses half-hourly radiance images in visible and infrared channels from the GOES series of geostationary weather satellites, daily snow cover data from the NSIDC and mixing ratio, temperature and pressure profiles from the Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis (MERRA-2) dataset. The REST2 model uses hourly aerosol optical depth from MERRA-2 to calculate GHI and DNI; water vapor and other inputs for REST 2 are obtained from the MERRA-2. This dataset was derived from the NSRDB and may be used with the following citation: Sengupta, M., Xie, Y., Lopez, A., Habte, A., Maclaurin, G., & Shelby, J. (2018). The national solar radiation data base (NSRDB). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 89, 51-60.

Dataset paper

See the official dataset description paper (preprint) over at Earth System Science Data

Dataset description

High resolution surface solar irradiance series classification, cloud shadow and enhancement statistics, and satellite observations for studying intra-day surface solar irradiance variability.

Part 2 of 2

This dataset is the derived from the 1 Hz observational record of direct, diffuse, and global horizontal irradiance measured by the Baseline Surface Radiation Network station at Cabauw, the Netherlands. More information about the observational site Cabauw can be found at the Ruisdael Observatory website.

Methodology

An extensive dataset description is currently being written for Earth System Science Data. In the mean time, a more condensed description is available in preprint at Arxiv.

Processing scripts are published at this Zenodo release.

Dataset contents

This dataset contains daily time series with the following data, from 2011-02 until 2020-12-31:

Cloud shadow and cloud enhancement time series classifications (see methodology)

Overcast, clear-sky and variable time series classifications (see methodology)

CAMS McClear for clear-sky global horizontal irradiance (version 3.5)

CAMS McClear atmospheric composition input (aerosols, ozone, and total column water vapour)

Solar elevation and azimuth angles (calculated using PySolar)

Quality flags: non-official 1 Hz and official 1-minute (from BSRN at PANGAEA)

Cabauw observatory tower wind speed and direction

Additional satellite data time series from 2014-01 until 2016-12:

MSGCPP satellite data for an area over central Netherlands (CLAAS2 source)

Post processed timeseries of cloud types over Cabauw derived from this MSGCPP satellite data

A nubiscope + satellite derived validation dataset for overcast and clear-sky classifications

Statistics files:

Cloud shadow and cloud enhancement event detection and event statistics based on the time series for 2011-2020

Daily radiation statistics for 2011-2020

And finally, for all days there are quicklooks available that visualize the irradiance time series, classification, and if available satellite data.

Version History

New in v1.1

CAMS McClear updated from v3.1 to v3.5 (2011-2020)

Fix incorrect dominant cloud type in CLAAS2 timeseries (claas2_processed.zip, 2014-2016)

Update timeseries statistics and quicklooks with new clear-sky data (2011-2020)

Added official quality flags (2011-2020)

Added preprocessed validation dataset (2014-2016)

Added nubiscope to quicklooks (2014-2016)

The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) was produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The 1991-2010 NSRDB is an update of the 1991-2005 NSRDB released in 2006 and archived at NCDC. The serially complete hourly data provided in the NSRDB update are provided in two output formats: 1) ground-based solar and meteorological dataset, and 2) 10 km gridded output produced by the SUNY model. The 10 km gridded output is from the State University of New York/Albany (SUNY) satellite radiation model developed by Richard Perez and Clean Power Research. Data in the NSRDB are a slightly modified version of the SolarAnywhere dataset distributed by Clear Power Research. The modifications are detailed in the NSRDB User's Manual. The model uses hourly radiance images estimated from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery, daily snow cover data, and monthly averages of atmospheric water vapor, trace gases, and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere to calculate the hourly total irradiance (sun and sky) falling on a horizontal surface. Atmospheric water vapor, trace gases, and aerosols are derived from a variety of sources. In simple terms, this satellite model uses the inverse relationship between reflected irradiance (that reflected by clouds and atmosphere back to space and the satellite sensor) and ground irradiance (that transmitted through the atmosphere to the Earth's surface). The high-resolution 10-km gridded data set from the SUNY model provides a consistency in modeled output data for its period of record for the years 1998 to 2009, the period for which necessary GOES imagery was available for the project. The SUNY model produces estimates of global and direct irradiance at hourly intervals on the 10-km grid for 49 states, excluding Alaska, where the geostationary satellites cannot resolve cloud cover with necessary detail. Although GOES images provide up to 1-km resolution, in the SUNY model, these data are down-sampled to 10-km resolution (0.1 degree x 0.1 degree). This resolution is adequate for most solar radiation resource applications and represents a practical trade-off between resolution and processing and data storage considerations. The model uses both GOES-East and GOES-West satellites for complete spatial coverage of the United States.

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a number of transient climate change scenarios based on coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) transient climate experiments. The purpose of these scenarios is to reflect time-dependent changes in surface climate from AOGCMs in terms of both (1) long-term trends and (2) changes in multiyear (3-5 yr) to decadal variability patterns, such as El Nino/Southern Oscillation(ENSO). Development of the data set is reported in Kittel et al. (1997). Scenarios have been derived from transient greenhouse gas experiments with sulfate aerosols from the Canadian Climate Center (CCC) and the Hadley Centre (HADCM2; Mitchell et al. 1995, Johns et al. 1997) accessed via the Climate Impacts LINK Project, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia. Scenarios were developed for the following variables: total incident solar radiation, minimum and maximum temperature, vapor pressure, precipitation, relative humidity and mean monthly irradiance for the time periods January 1994 to approximately 2100. These data and the VEMAP 1 data (Kittel et al. 1995) were used to drive models in VEMAP Phase 2, the objectives of which are to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models to historical and projected transient forcings across the conterminous U.S. This data set of monthly climate change scenarios was designed to be concatenated with the /VEMAP/vemap.html">VEMAP 2: U.S. Monthly Climate, 1895-1993, Version 2 data set to create a single climate series from 1895 - ~2100. This data set is being made available for the U.S. National Assessment. Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data Group to ensure that the intended application of the data set is consistent with the generation and limitations of the data. For more information, refer to the VEMAP homepage. Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J. A. Royle, C. Daly, H. H. Fisher, W. P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, D. N. Yates, R. McKeown, D. S. Schimel, and VEMAP 2 Participants. 2000. VEMAP 2: U. S. Monthly Climate Change Scenarios, Version 2. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

This dataset contains several useful components for Swiss Electricity system modeling: 1. High-voltage Swiss grid: 2019 snapshot of the high-voltage (>150kV) grid composed of : - Nodes: names, voltage, position. - Lines: ends nodes, resistance, power capacity. - Transformers: ends nodes, power capacity, resistance, tap ratio.

1. Hydropower topology : Representative description of Swiss reservoirs and plants (2019) composed of:
2. Plants: Lower reservoir, Upper reservoir, pump/turbine, debit, power capacity.

3. Reservoirs: Volume, altitude, position, canton.

4. Inflows into all the reservoirs: hourly time series post-processed from PREVAH model outputs from 2009 to 2019.

5. Wind production per node: COSMO-1 data processed and scaled to match SFOE annual production.

6. Solar irradiance maps projected onto tilted surfaces: hourly time series for 35° and 65° tilts, azimuth 180°. (same method as Frischholz, Y. (2025))

7. Processed ERA5 (historical), ECMWF SEAS5 (seasonal forecast) and ECMWF TIGGE (short-term forecast):

8. ERA5 Land: For inflow forecast model: historical runoff, snow depth, temperature and total precipitation per catchment (hourly, 2009-2019). For residual demand forecast model: historical temperature, u-v wind, ssrd per country (CH, AT, DE, FR, IT, hourly 2015-2019)

9. ECMWF SEAS5: For inflow forecast model: same variables as ERA5 (yearly forecast starting from every 1st day of every month in 2019). For residual demand forecast model: same variables as ERA5 (yearly forecast starting from every 1st day of every month in 2019).

10. ECMWF TIGGE: For inflow forecast model: same variables as ERA5 (two weeks forecast starting from every 1st day of every week in 2019). For residual demand forecast model: same variables as ERA5 (two weeks forecast starting from every 1st day of every week in 2019).

More details can be found on README.txt.

The NSRDB is a serially complete collection of hourly and half-hourly values of the three most common measurements of solar radiation—global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance—and meteorological data. The current NSRDB is modeled using multi-channel measurements from geostationary satellites. The older versions of the NSRDB were modeled using cloud and weather information primarily collected at airports. Sufficient number of locations and temporal and spatial scales were used to represent regional solar radiation climates accurately. Using the NSRDB data, it is possible to estimate the amount of solar energy that is historically available at a given time and location anywhere in the United States. The NSRDB is also expanding to encompass a growing list of international locations . Using the long-term NSRDB data in various models, it is possible to predict the potential future availability of solar energy in a location based on past conditions. Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data can be derived from the NSRDB time series datasets. Visit NREL's TMY page for detailed information about this data type and its uses. The latest addition to the NSRDB is spectral datasets. Spectral datasets are calculated on demand based on user specifications of tilt and orientation. Please visit NREL's Spectral Datasets page to learn more. The NSRDB metadata has been parsed into BigQuery tables for easy subsetting and analysis. See the metadata tables here. This public dataset is hosted in Google Cloud Storage and available free to use. Use this quick start guide to quickly learn how to access public datasets on Google Cloud Storage.

Daily Solar Radiation Data is historical data set DSI-9726 archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Elements included are total radiation per day (Langley's), total extraterrestrial radiation, minutes/percent of possible of sunshine, average cloudiness and percent of possible radiation. The dataset covers stations in the United States, Canada, Iceland, West Indies, and the Pacific Islands. Four stations have records beginning December 1, 1951. The majority of stations began taking records in July of 1952. The period of record ends in December 1976. Stations measuring hemispheric solar radiation had a pyrheliometer installed in a suitable exposed location and a recorder installed in the office. Thermo-electric hemisphere pyrheliometers were used in measuring hemispheric solar radiation. Two types were in use: A 10-Junction type in general use, and a more sensitive 50-Junction type used at selected northern stations during months when solar radiation is less intense. Beginning in 07/01/57, solar radiation data was recorded in the international pyrheliometer scale of 1956. This scale provides values that are 2.0% less than those based on the Smithsonian Scale of 1913, the standard previously in use.

The solar radiation data provided by SILO are an estimate of the total incoming solar energy incident upon the Earth's surface at a given location. The estimate includes contributions from both the direct and diffuse components of solar exposure. It can be calculated from data measured directly by radiometers and indirectly from observational estimates of cloudiness and hours of sunshine duration.

This dataset provides to the reader/user with two netCDF files which illustrate the structure and properties of the input datasets (used directly by the software SOCRATES-RF) in support of the publication: "Historical tropospheric and stratospheric ozone radiative forcing using the CMIP6 database". It comprises two examples of January (pre-industrial decade, 1850s): one based on CMIP5 ozone concentrations and other based on the recently available CMIP6 ozone dataset. Both were created with the procedure described on the supplementary information of the publication "Historical tropospheric and stratospheric ozone radiative forcing using the CMIP6 database", Checa-Garcia, R et al.

The sources of information for these datasets are the CMIP5 / CMIP6 ozone dataset, the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset (2000-01 to 2009-12) and the solar irradiance from SORCE and TIM projects. Please see the references:

Cionni, I., Eyring, V., Lamarque, J. F., Randel, W. J., Stevenson, D. S., Wu, F., Bodeker, G. E., Shepherd, T. G., Shindell, D. T., and Waugh, D. W.: Ozone database in support of CMIP5 simulations: results and corresponding radiative forcing, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 11267-11292, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11267-2011, 2011.

Hegglin, M. I., D. Kinnison, D. Plummer, R.Checa-Garcia et al., Historical and future ozone database (1850-2100) in support of CMIP6, GMD, in preparation.

Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P., Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C., Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B., Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Kållberg, P., Köhler, M., Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park, B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N. and Vitart, F. (2011), The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 137: 553–597. doi: 10.1002/qj.828

Kopp G., Heuerman K., Lawrence G. (2005) The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM): Instrument Calibration. In: Rottman G., Woods T., George V. (eds) The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE). Springer, New York, NY

DGVM (JULES and ORCHIDEE_DF) output associated with the publication 'Aerosol-light interactions reduce the carbon budget imbalance' (O'Sullivan et al., 2021 - Environmental Research Letters). Files contain monthly data over the period 1901-2017. There are 7 simulations for each model, with varying surface solar radiation in each case. Atmospheric CO2 and all climate variables (except for incoming short-wave radiation) vary throughout all simulations. Historical: total and diffuse shortwave radiation depend on the solar zenith angle, temporally varying cloud cover and aerosol optical depth of the whole atmospheric column. FixedAero: Time-invariant (1901-1920 cycle) tropospheric aerosol and no stratospheric aerosol influence on total and diffuse shortwave radiation FixedTropAero: Time-invariant (1901-1920 cycle) tropospheric aerosol influence on total and diffuse shortwave radiation FixedStratAero: no stratospheric aerosol influence on total and diffuse shortwave radiation FixedAero_DF: Time-invariant (1901-1920 cycle) tropospheric aerosol and no stratospheric aerosol influence on diffuse shortwave radiation FixedTropAero_DF: Time-invariant (1901-1920 cycle) tropospheric aerosol influence on diffuse shortwave radiation FixedStratAero_DF: no stratospheric aerosol influence on diffuse shortwave radiation

Solar radiation (pyranometer), Interval total Coibita Island research station, Climate monitoring Location: 7° 38.422'N, 81° 42.079'W Station established June 2023. Historical datasets can be located here: https://smithsonian.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Coibita_Solar_Radiation_pyranometer/25359703