Datasets

Cloud properties directly influence the state of the Earth´s upper-air atmosphere. Clouds have an effect on weather and climate through their contribution to the Earth’s water cycle and impact on the Earth’s energy budget. They impact atmospheric motions on a range of spatial and temporal scales and contribute to changes in the atmospheric composition.

The Earth’s Radiation Budget (ERB) represents the overall balance between incoming and outgoing radiant energy at the Earth’s top-of-the-atmosphere. This Essential Climate Variable is the primary forcing of the climate system and is therefore a fundamental quantity to be monitored to understand the Earth’s climate and its variability. The Earth’s Radiation Budget comprises of the quantification of the incoming radiation from the Sun and the outgoing reflected shortwave and emitted longwave radiation.

The Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) represents the balance between the heating of the Earth’s surface through absorption of incoming solar radiation and cooling through the emission of infra-red radiation, which is a fundamental component of the surface energy budget. Small changes in the surface radiation budget can lead to large climatological responses, which makes a permanent and precise monitoring indispensable.