2011 Volume 89A Pages 225-238
Downward shortwave flux at the surface over China was derived from sunshine duration data using parameters of Jordan sunshine recorders. The sunshine duration data were obtained as routine meteorological data and ad-justed as necessary for the effects of topography, station surroundings, altitude, and atmospheric turbidity. Calculated flux was verified by in situ observations. Daily flux was calculated at more than 190 stations in China, Climatic maps (statistical period: 1971-2000) of surface solar radiation were produced and have been made public.
The sunshine duration-based shortwave flux was used to check satellite observation-based datasets. Two ver-sions of satellite-based surface radiation budget datasets (SRB 2.0 and SRB 3.0) from NASA's Langley Research Center were investigated. Compared with the SRB 2.0 dataset, the SRB 3.0 dataset showed improved shortwave flux, especially over western China and the Tibetan Plateau.
