Measurement of the Earth Radiation Budget at the Top of the Atmosphere—A Review

Abstract

The Earth Radiation Budget at the top of the atmosphere quantifies how the Earth gains energy from the Sun and loses energy to space. It is of fundamental importance for climate and climate change. In this paper, the current state-of-the-art of the satellite measurements of the Earth Radiation Budget is reviewed. Combining all available measurements, the most likely value of the Total Solar Irradiance at a solar minimum is 1362 W/m 2, the most likely Earth albedo is 29.8%, and the most likely annual mean Outgoing Longwave Radiation is 238 W/m 2. We highlight the link between long-term changes of the Outgoing Longwave Radiation, the strengthening of El Nino in the period 1985–1997 and the strengthening of La Nina in the period 2000–2009.