Comparing Performance of Solargis and Suny Satellite Models Using Monthly and Daily Aerosol Data

Abstract

Monthly data of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) or Linke turbidity are used in the satellite-based solar radiation models until recently, which is given by limited data availability. In 2010, European consortium working within the project GEMS and lead by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast) introduced a first version of the new aerosol database. The continuity of the calculation is secured by the ongoing project MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition & Climate). The database is operationally calculated by ECMWF and provides several atmospheric data products with a spatial resolution of 1.15 arc-degree and a time step of 6 hours. It represents the time period from year 2003 to the present time. This data set offers new possibilities for improvement of solar calculation schemes and it has been implemented in SolarGIS in late 2010.