A comparison of GOES incident solar radiation estimates with a topographic solar radiation model during FIFE

In this research we compare insolation estimates from a topographic solar radiation model with those derived from a coarse-resolution satellite algorithm. Half-hourly pyranometer and GOES estimates were obtained for the dates August 10-August 20, 1987 during the third intensive field campaign (IFC-3) of FIFE. Our results show that under clear atmospheric conditions the uncertainty of the GOES algorithm is greater than the error introduced by the gentle terrain of the FIFE site and that under non uniform atmospheric conditions, it is the clouds that dominate the spatial variability. If the modeling situation requires that the topography be considered, the GOES estimates can be used to derive a topographic model to obtain more realistic insolation at subpixel scales. -from Authors