Dataset for the validation of EarthCARE surface irradiance estimates using collocated ground-based (BSRN) observations and geostationary satellite estimates (CAMS)

General These datasets help validate EarthCARE's radiative transfer product ACM-RT (Cole et al., 2024) and its corresponding cloud and aerosol inputs with surface irradiance observations from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) (Driemel et al., 2018) and gridded solar radiation estimates from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) (CAMS, 2022). They were created for and used in Gschwind et al., 2026 (Validation of EarthCARE Surface Irradiance Products Against Ground-Based Observations and Geostationary Satellite Estimates). For details on the collocation methodologies, please refer to Section 2 of the publication. Three different EarthCARE approaches were validated; 1D radiative transfer model (RTM) along-track estimates (1x1 km), 1D RTM across-track extension using the Scene Construction Algorithm (Qu et al., 2023), and 3D RTM estimates (5x21 km). To infer cloud-induced discrepancies, the cloud modification factor (CMF) was calculated. Furthermore, EarthCARE's aerosol optical depth (AOD) input in the RTMs (Mason et al., 2023) was analyzed with CAMS global atmospheric composition forecast (CAMS, 2021) and AERONET observations (Giles et al., 2019). BSRN folder The BSRN datasets contain collocated surface global horizontal irradiance (GHI) measurements from the ground-based BSRN stations and EarthCARE's ACM-RT product. BSRN_ECA_GHI_DIF_DIR.csv also contains diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and beam (direct) horizontal irradiance (BHI) of both BSRN and EarthCARE. The corresponding results of the longwave irradiance can be found in BSRN_ECA_LW_AlongTrack.csv. The datasets contain the following variables: Geolocation & Time information Date (UT) - Datetime at the closest point of the EarthCARE overpass BSRN Station Name - Station over which the overpass occurred BSRN Latitude (°N) - Latitude of the station BSRN Longitude (°E) - Longitude of the station Distance (km) - Distance of the EarthCARE overpass to the BSRN station EarthCARE overpass information EarthCARE OAF - Orbit and Frame of the EarthCARE overpass Baseline - Baseline of the EarthCARE products Closest EarthCARE along-track index - Based on the start of the EarthCARE frame Scientific variables (see Section 2 in Gschwind et al., 2026 for further information) CAMS folder The CAMS datasets contain collocated gridded surface GHI estimates from CAMS and EarthCARE's ACM-RT product. CAMS_ECA_GHI_DIF_DIR_3D.csv also contains DHI and BHI estimates, while CAMS_ECA_AOD.csv compares AOD forecasts of CAMS with EarthCARE estimates. All EarthCARE frames were processed under baseline BA. The datasets contain the following variables: Geolocation & Time information Date (UT) - Datetime at the closest point of the EarthCARE overpass Latitude - Latitude of the CAMS cell (°N) Longitude - Longitude of the CAMS cell (°E) EarthCARE overpass information EarthCARE OAF - Orbit and Frame of the EarthCARE overpass Scientific variables (see Section 2 in Gschwind et al., 2026 for further information) AERONET folder The AERONET dataset contains collocated AOD observations from AERONET, CAMS forecast, EarthCARE CAPTIVATE algorithm, and EarthCARE composite algorithm. The dataset contains the following variables: Geolocation & Time information Date (UT) - Datetime at the closest point of the EarthCARE overpass AERONET Station Name - Station over which the overpass occurred AERONET Latitude (°N) - Latitude of the station AERONET Longitude (°E) - Longitude of the station Distance (km) - Distance of the EarthCARE overpass to the BSRN station EarthCARE overpass information EarthCARE OAF - Orbit and Frame of the EarthCARE overpass Baseline - Baseline of the EarthCARE products Scientific variables AERONET AOD ECA CAPTIVATE AOD ECA composite AOD CAMS AOD References Gschwind, Y., Papachristopoulou, K., Cole, J. N. S., Bais, A. F., and Kazadzis, S.: Validation of EarthCARE Surface Irradiance Products Against Ground-Based Observations and Geostationary Satellite Estimates, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4519, 2026. Cole, J. N. S., Barker, H. W., Qu, Z., Villefranque, N., and Shephard, M. W.: Broadband radiative quantities for the EarthCARE mission: the ACM-COM and ACM-RT products, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4271–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4271-2023, 2023. Driemel, A., Augustine, J., Behrens, K., Colle, S., Cox, C., Cuevas-Agulló, E., Denn, F. M., Duprat, T., Fukuda, M., Grobe, H., Haeffelin, M., Hodges, G., Hyett, N., Ijima, O., Kallis, A., Knap, W., Kustov, V., Long, C. N., Longenecker, D., Lupi, A., Maturilli, M., Mimouni, M., Ntsangwane, L., Ogihara, H., Olano, X., Olefs, M., Omori, M., Passamani, L., Pereira, E. B., Schmithüsen, H., Schumacher, S., Sieger, R., Tamlyn, J., Vogt, R., Vuilleumier, L., Xia, X., Ohmura, A., and König-Langlo, G.: Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN): structure and data description (1992–2017), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1491-1501, DOI: 10.5194/essd-10-1491-2018, 2018 Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (2022): CAMS gridded solar radiation. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Atmosphere Data Store, DOI: 10.24381/9ab61afa (Accessed on 05-08-2026) Qu, Z., Barker, H. W., Cole, J. N. S., and Shephard, M. W.: Across-track extension of retrieved cloud and aerosol properties for the EarthCARE mission: the ACMB-3D product, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2319–2331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2319-2023, 2023. Mason, S. L., Hogan, R. J., Bozzo, A., and Pounder, N. L.: A unified synergistic retrieval of clouds, aerosols, and precipitation from EarthCARE: the ACM-CAP product, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3459–3486, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3459-2023, 2023. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (2021): CAMS global atmospheric composition forecasts. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Atmosphere Data Store, DOI: 10.24381/04a0b097 (Accessed on 05-08-2026) Giles, D. M., Sinyuk, A., Sorokin, M. G., Schafer, J. S., Smirnov, A., Slutsker, I., Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Lewis, J. R., Campbell, J. R., Welton, E. J., Korkin, S. V., and Lyapustin, A. I.: Advancements in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 database – automated near-real-time quality control algorithm with improved cloud screening for Sun photometer aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 169–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-169-2019, 2019.