Record Label : surface_diffuse_downwelling_shortwave_flux_in_air_assuming_clear_sky
Record Title : Surface Diffuse Downwelling Shortwave Flux in Air Assuming Clear Sky
CF Standard Name : surface_diffuse_downwelling_shortwave_flux_in_air_assuming_clear_sky
Record Description : The surface called "surface" means the lower boundary of the atmosphere. "Diffuse" radiation is radiation that has been scattered by gas molecules in the atmosphere and by particles such as cloud droplets and aerosols. The term "shortwave" means shortwave radiation. Downwelling radiation is radiation from above. It does not mean "net downward". The sign convention is that "upwelling" is positive upwards and "downwelling" is positive downwards. When thought of as being incident on a surface, a radiative flux is sometimes called "irradiance". In addition, it is identical with the quantity measured by a cosine-collector light-meter and sometimes called "vector irradiance". In accordance with common usage in geophysical disciplines, "flux" implies per unit area, called "flux density" in physics. A phrase "assuming_condition" indicates that the named quantity is the value which would obtain if all aspects of the system were unaltered except for the assumption of the circumstances specified by the condition. "Clear sky" means in the absence of clouds.
Canonical Units : W m-2
MIP Variable : Surface Diffuse Downwelling Clear Sky Shortwave Radiation