Global surface energy closure and its variability depends heavily upon the surface radiative energy budget in the deep tropics. A key process observed is the change in convection regimes from disorganized convection to organized deep convection. During these periods an imbalance is observed between energy and water fluxes in terms of energy closure in some atmospheric reanalysis systems, implying that processes are not simulated well. A recent paper by Hsaio et al (2023, pre-published version) found that the transition process has wind shear and longwave cloud radiative feedback signatures. In this presentation, we assess the surface radiative budget in the deep tropics by comparing multiple data products (GEWEX SRB Rel4IP, CERES Ed4.1, ISSCP FH, etc.) and describing the variability across the deep tropics for the period from 1988 to near present. We assess this variability of the radiative flux anomalies (including the net TOA, surface and the atmospheric divergence fluxes) against water vapor divergence, cloud properties (include ISCCP “Weather States, Tselioudis et al. 2021) and larger scale wind shear. We include further analysis contrasting 6 key tropical oceanic regions (Indian Ocean east and west, tropical western, central and eastern Pacific Ocean, and Tropical Atlantic Ocean) and the sensitivity of the fluxes as a function of fluctuations in cloud types in response to various larger scale atmospheric processes (e.g. El Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole). These are contrasted against the modeled radiative fluxes from ERA-5 and MERRA-2. Ocean buoy measurements of radiative fluxes are utilized to help assess data radiative flux uncertainty over the nearly 40 year period. In general, the variability for overlap periods of these various data products agrees well, but there are significant differences in the net fluxes that vary according to the rendering of surface, atmospheric, aerosol and cloud properties. We conclude with recommendations for continuing work.

By 2050, the U.S. plans to increase solar energy from 3% to 45% of the nation's electricity generation. Quantifying wildfire smoke's impact on solar photovoltaic (PV) generation is essential to meet this goal, especially given previous studies documenting sizable PV output losses due to smoke. We quantify smoke-driven changes in baseline solar resource availability [i.e., amount of direct normal (DNI) and global horizontal (GHI) irradiance] at different spatial and temporal scales using radiative transfer model output and satellite-based smoke, aerosol, and cloud observations. We show that irradiance decreases as smoke frequency increases at the state, regional, and national scale. DNI is more sensitive to smoke with sizable losses persisting downwind of fires. Large reductions in GHI-the main PV resource-are possible close to fires, but mean GHI declines minimally (<5%) due to transported smoke. PV resources remain relatively stable across most of CONUS even in extreme fire seasons.

For economic reasons, single-axis trackers are more popular than dual-axis trackers in spite of the fact that the latter receives more solar irradiance. Different formulas based on spherical trigonometry have been used for different kinds of single-axis trackers, and the mathematics gets complex when the rotating axis is positioned other than being vertical or horizontal. In addition, the input may require hour angle and the declination of the Sun besides the solar zenith and azimuth angles. This paper introduces a vector-based formula that can be applied to an arbitrarily configured single-axis tracker defined by three parameters. For a given location and position of the Sun, the formula calculates the tilt angle and the azimuth angle of the panel as well as the rotation angle of the panel relative to the axis that minimizes the incident angle of the direct, or beam, light of the Sun. The required input parameters are the solar zenith and azimuth angles, and the formula can generate results for the horizontal single-axis tracker (HSAT) with east-west or north-south oriented axis, polar single-axis tracker (PSAT), vertical single-axis tracker (VSAT) and vertical tilted single-axis tracker (VTSAT), depending on the specified configuration parameters. Since a single-axis tracker seeks to minimize the incident angle of the direct sunlight, the formula is applied to the top of atmosphere (TOA) to examine how these trackers perform in the absolute sense and relative to each other, and the results may shed some light on the behavior of these single-axis trackers. Then the formula is applied to the Earth's surface under an idealized clear-sky model to check out how the diurnal cycle may affect the annual mean efficiency of the trackers. The surface case is parameterized such that it represents the maximum annual mean efficiency deviation from the TOA case, and realistic all-sky cases would be enveloped by the TOA and surface cases as far as the annual mean efficiency is concerned. The results show how well the different types of single-axis trackers capture the direct sunlight relative to the dual-axis tracker and relative to each other at all latitudes from pole to pole on an annual basis.

Weather data plays a critical role in renewable energy analysis. Compared to using multiple Actual Meteorological Years, simulations using a single typical year require significantly fewer computational resources. Previous efforts to create typical weather datasets for renewable energy analysis either lack justified or optimized strategies for selecting and weighting different weather parameters or are limited to a few specific locations. In this study, we developed a dataset comprising Typical Solar Years (TSYs) and Typical Wind Years (TWYs) for over 2000 locations across the U.S., based on data from NASA's POWER project. The strategies for creating TSYs and TWYs were optimized based on the simulated outputs of various PV systems and wind turbines in 16 representative cities. This dataset provides an efficient means for the rapid evaluation and optimization of renewable energy systems throughout the entire U.S. Additionally, the optimal strategies identified in this study can be directly applied to create near-optimal TSYs and TWYs for most locations worldwide. However, readers can also employ the optimization approach presented in this work to develop optimal strategies tailored for particular regions.

An Earth System Digital Twin (ESDT) is a dynamic, interactive, digital replica of the state and temporal evolution of Earth systems. It integrates multiple models along with observations, and connecting them with analysis, AI, and visualization tools. Together, these enable users to explore the current state of the Earth system, predict future conditions, and run hypothetical scenarios to understand how the system would evolve under various assumptions. Since 2021, NASA's Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program has invested in two ESDT efforts to tackle the impacts of our changing climate. The establishment of ESDT for flood and air quality enabled our teams to formalize the software framework. The open-source framework is called the Integrated Digital Earth Analysis System (IDEAS). By working with the Apache Science Data Analytics Platform (SDAP) community, IDEAS is now a subproject of SDAP. The paper presents the ongoing development of IDEAS and its current applications.

BackgroundThe rate of suicide attempts by patients with bipolar disorder is high. In addition to patient and country specific factors, environmental factors may contribute to suicidal behavior. Sunlight has multiple diverse impacts on human physiology and behavior. Solar insolation is defined as the electromagnetic energy from the sun striking a surface area on earth. We previously found that a large change in solar insolation between the minimum and maximum monthly values was associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts in patients with bipolar I disorder.MethodsThe association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempts in bipolar disorder was again investigated using an international database with 15% more data and more sites at diverse locations and countries.ResultsData were available from 5641 patients with bipolar I disorder living at a wide range of latitudes in 41 countries in both hemispheres. A large change in solar insolation between the minimum and maximum monthly values was associated with a history of suicide attempts in patients with bipolar I disorder, a replication of our prior analysis. The estimated model also associated state sponsored religion in the onset country, female gender, a history of alcohol or substance abuse, and being part of a younger birth cohort with a history of suicide attempts.ConclusionsA large change between the minimum and maximum monthly values of solar insolation was associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder, replicating our prior research. Physicians should be aware that daylight has wide ranging physiological and psychiatric impacts, and that living with large changes in solar insolation may be associated with an increased suicide risk.

Abstract Background Sunlight contains ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation that triggers the production of vitamin D by skin. Vitamin D has widespread effects on brain function in both developing and adult brains. However, many people live at latitudes (about > 40 N or S) that do not receive enough UVB in winter to produce vitamin D. This exploratory study investigated the association between the age of onset of bipolar I disorder and the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production in a large global sample. Methods Data for 6972 patients with bipolar I disorder were obtained at 75 collection sites in 41 countries in both hemispheres. The best model to assess the relation between the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production and age of onset included 1 or more months below the threshold, family history of mood disorders, and birth cohort. All coefficients estimated at P ≤ 0.001. Results The 6972 patients had an onset in 582 locations in 70 countries, with a mean age of onset of 25.6 years. Of the onset locations, 34.0% had at least 1 month below the threshold for UVB sufficient for vitamin D production. The age of onset at locations with 1 or more months of less than or equal to the threshold for UVB was 1.66 years younger. Conclusion UVB and vitamin D may have an important influence on the development of bipolar disorder. Study limitations included a lack of data on patient vitamin D levels, lifestyles, or supplement use. More study of the impacts of UVB and vitamin D in bipolar disorder is needed to evaluate this supposition.

&lt;p&gt;The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project produced 3-hourly shortwave and longwave surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes for the 1983-2017 in its most recent version, Release 4 Integrated Product (IP) in collaboration with other GEWEX collaborators (Kummerow et al., 2019, Stackhouse et al., 2020, ATBD). This version uses the newly recalibrated and processed ISCCP HXS product as its primary input for cloud and radiance data, replacing ISCCP DX with a ninefold increase in pixel count (10 km instead of 30 km).&amp;#160; Previous work showed comparisons to BSRN and to ocean buoy measurements showed ensemble agreement for monthly averaged shortwave (SW or solar) wavelengths to be ~1 W m&lt;sup&gt;-2 &lt;/sup&gt;bias with an RMS of 14.7 W m&lt;sup&gt;-2 &lt;/sup&gt;RMS and longwave (LW or thermal infrared) ~+1 W m&lt;sup&gt;-2 &lt;/sup&gt;bias with a 15.9 W m&lt;sup&gt;-2 &lt;/sup&gt;RMS.&amp;#160; However, we also found that utilizing the Tselioudis (2020) weather state analysis with ISCCP to partition fluxes by cloud state over the BSRN sites showed that particular cloud states, such as the convective cloud state, showed much larger biases, particularly in the SW.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;To address such issues, and to better resolve surface radiative flux spatial variability, this talk describes advances to the SRB inputs and algorithms towards the next release, referred to as LaRC SRB future Release 5. Since the resolution of ISCCP HXS is 10 km (excluding pixels within 25 km of coast lines), the ISCCP data products have enough sampling to grid cloud properties at the 0.5&amp;#176;x0.5&amp;#176;on a global basis.&amp;#160; In the shortwave, the Pinker-Laszlo lookup table approach with a forward call to the Fu-Liou radiative transfer model as modified by the CERES team (Rose et al., 2006).&amp;#160; In addition to being a proven radiation code, Fu-Liou allows the calculation of fluxes at different atmospheric levels and spectral bands, which will provide more insight into the surface radiation budget, its variability and attribution.&amp;#160; Updates to various inputs are described such as surface spectral albedos, emissivities, surface skin and near-surface temperatures, atmospheric profiles, and aerosols optical properties. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This talk presents the results of early versions of the new products from grid boxes containing BSRN and ocean buoy measurement sites and compare these surface fluxes to the previous version and also to other prominent available data products in the literature.&amp;#160; Key regional differences over oceans and land are assessed to evaluate the changes in the resolving the flux variability.&amp;#160; Although the Tselioudis &amp;#8220;weather states&amp;#8221; are classified for a 1&amp;#176;x1&amp;#176; resolution, an initial flux partitioning is made at both full and a degraded 1&amp;#176;x1&amp;#176; resolution to assess the new algorithms under different cloud state conditions. The newer algorithms rely on the Fu-Liou based radiative transfer for both the SW and LW providing fluxes within the atmosphere and at the surface and for spectral band fluxes.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Satellite observations from Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) radiometers have produced over two decades of world-class data documenting time-space variations in Earth's top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation budget. In addition to energy exchanges among Earth and space, climate studies require accurate information on radiant energy exchanges at the surface and within the atmosphere. The CERES Cloud Radiative Swath (CRS) data product extends the standard Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) data product by calculating a suite of radiative fluxes from the surface to TOA at the instantaneous CERES footprint scale using the NASA Langley Fu-Liou radiative transfer model. Here, we describe the CRS flux algorithm and evaluate its performance against a network of ground-based measurements and CERES TOA observations. CRS all-sky downwelling broadband fluxes show significant improvements in surface validation statistics relative to the parameterized fluxes on the SSF product, including a similar to 30%-40% (similar to 20%) reduction in SW down arrow (LW down arrow) root-mean-square error (RMS Delta), improved correlation coefficients, and the lowest SW down arrow bias over most surface types. RMS Delta and correlation statistics improve over five different surface types under both overcast and clear-sky conditions. The global mean computed TOA outgoing LW radiation (OLR) remains within <1% (2-3 W m(-2)) of CERES observations, while the global mean reflected SW radiation (RSW) is excessive by similar to 3.5% (similar to 9 W m(-2)) owing to cloudy-sky computation errors. As we highlight using data from two remote field campaigns, the CRS data product provides many benefits for studies requiring advanced surface radiative fluxes.

An Earth System Digital Twin (ESDT) is a dynamic, interactive, digital replica of the state and temporal evolution of Earth systems. It integrates multiple models along with observation data, and connecting them with analysis, AI, and visualization tools. Together, these enable users to explore the current state of the Earth system, predict future conditions, and run hypothetical scenarios to understand how the system would evolve under various assumptions. The NASA's Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST)'s Integrated Digital Earth Analysis System (IDEAS) project is to establish an extensible architectural solution to develop digital twins of our physical environment for Earth Science. IDEAS delivers a formal system architecture with mechanisms for the outputs of one model to feed into others; for driving models with observation data; and for harmonizing observation data and model outputs for analysis. To validate and demonstrate the IDEAS architecture, this project collaborates with the Space Climate Observatory (SCO)'s FloodDAM project and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) to focus on floods detection, prediction and their impacts.

Objective: Circadian rhythm disruption is commonly observed in bipolar disorder (BD). Daylight is the most powerful signal to entrain the human circadian clock system. This exploratory study investigated if solar inso-lation at the onset location was associated with the polarity of the first episode of BD I. Solar insolation is the amount of electromagnetic energy from the Sun striking a surface area of the Earth. Methods: Data from 7488 patients with BD I were collected at 75 sites in 42 countries. The first episode occurred at 591 onset locations in 67 countries at a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. Solar insolation values were obtained for every onset location, and the ratio of the minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation was calculated. This ratio is largest near the equator (with little change in solar insolation over the year), and smallest near the poles (where winter insolation is very small compared to summer insolation). This ratio also applies to tropical locations which may have a cloudy wet and clear dry season, rather than winter and summer. Results: The larger the change in solar insolation throughout the year (smaller the ratio between the minimum monthly and maximum monthly values), the greater the likelihood the first episode polarity was depression. Other associated variables were being female and increasing percentage of gross domestic product spent on country health expenditures. (All coefficients: P <= 0.001). Conclusion: Increased awareness and research into circadian dysfunction throughout the course of BD is warranted.

The NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project produces 3-hrly shortwave and longwave surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes for the 1983-near present time period. The new Release 4 Integrated Product (IP) uses the newly recalibrated and processed ISCCP HXS product as its primary input for cloud and radiance data, replacing ISCCP DX with a ninefold increase in pixel count (10 km instead of 30 km). This first version retains a 1°x1° resolution enabling intercomparison against previous versions and other data sets such as CERES, but spans 34 years from July 1983 through June 2017 and was announced by Kummerow et al. 2019 (GEWEX News). This new IP product also uses an atmospheric temperature and moisture dataset known as nnHIRS and other parameters such as near surface and skin temperatures from SeaFlux and LandFlux data sets. In addition to the input data improvements, several important algorithm improvements have been made since Release 3. These include recalculated SW atmospheric transmissivities and reflectivities, updated ocean and snow/ice albedos, and variable total solar irradiance consistent with SORCE measurements. The LW code has been updated to improve the optical property treatment for clouds and aerosols are included in this version. Radiative treatment of ice clouds is also improved in the LW. The variable aerosol optical properties for the SW and LW are specified using a detailed aerosol history from the Max Planck Institute Aerosol Climatology (MAC). Here we present an assessment of the LW radiative fluxes and the uncertainty of those fluxes relative to the various inputs to surface SW/LW flux measurements from BSRN and PMEL buoys measurements. We review the validation of the SW and LW fluxes and then in terms of time series and then assess the products in terms of their long-term variability of the surface SW and LW net fluxes compared to multiple other data products including atmospheric reanalysis products. The comparisons of radiative estimates to observations are performed at various temporal scales and aimed at investigation of agreement at longer time averages but accessing potential change in diurnal magnitude and daily variability. Utilizing this uncertainty information, to access long-term variability of surface radiation components at selected region and global scales, considering satellite sampling/calibration “artifacts” as necessary. At the longer time scales, the net SW and net LW the TOA and surface have implications toward closure of the energy budgets at the surface, we assess these compared to other studies on energy budget closure for the same selected global and regional scales.

Caption: Lightning discharges appear in various colours depending on the scatter of light inside the thundercloud and in the atmosphere.The intracloud lightning discharges in the centre of the thundercloud appear to be white with a bluish tint, and the cloud-to-ground discharge below appears to be orange.The right hand side of the thundercloud exhibits a green tint that is attributed to the unique composition of hydrometeors inside the thundercloud.The photo was taken in the late evening of 10 September 2013, near Tarragona in northeastern Spain.

While the CERES input aerosol optical depth and precipitable water data are continuously available, the same parameters derived from BSRN site measurements are available only intermittently. Cloudiness disrupts the aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval and precipitable water (w) observation sampling. Irregularly sampled records, such as these, can cause systematic biases if the averages of the continuous data are not sampled at the same times as the observed data, as shown by high biases in Fig. 10 in our original paper. This, however, does not suggest that the CERES input aerosol optical depth and precipitable water are systematically significantly higher than ground-based observations. In this addendum, we show that when the monthly means are computed from only those CERES hourly means that have a BSRN match, then the resulting monthly means differ from BSRN-derived parameters to a much lesser extent. To be precise, the biases in the original Fig. 10 decrease 82%, 69% and 52%, respectively; the magnitudes of slopes in the original Fig. 11 decrease by 69% and 65%, respectively. Imposing a cloud fraction less than or equal to 5% further reduces AOD and w mean values but not biases. Nevertheless, the flux bias reduces from -16.9 W m(-2) to -4.2 W m(-2) after imposing the cloud fraction restraint relative to the RADFlux clear-sky fluxes which appear to represent the driest and clearest conditions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Earth and Space Science Open Archive Presented WorkOpen AccessYou are viewing the latest version by default [v1]A Capacity Building Initiative to Support the Uptake of Earth Observations for a More Resilient Energy SectorAuthorsAmyLeibrandiDNatashaSadoffMeredithFritzTanyaMaslakiDPaulStackhouseCraigZamudaiDSee all authors Amy LeibrandiDCorresponding Author• Submitting AuthorBattelle Memorial InstituteiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8222-5876view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressNatasha SadoffGoddard Space Flight Centerview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressMeredith FritzBattelle Memorial Instituteview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressTanya MaslakiDBattelle Memorial InstituteiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5864-3522view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressPaul StackhouseNASA Langley Research Centerview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressCraig ZamudaiDDepartment of EnergyiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1163-5365view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email address

Background Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed.

Although El Nino events each have distinct evolutionary character, they typically provide systematic large-scale forcing for warming and increased drought frequency across the tropical continents. We assess this response in the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), reanalysis and in a 10-member-model Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) ensemble. The lagged response (3-4 months) of mean tropical land temperature to El Nino warming in the Pacific Ocean is well represented. MERRA-2 reproduces the patterns of precipitation in the tropical regions, and the AMIP ensemble reproduces some regional responses that are similar to those observed and some regions that are not simulating the response well. Model skill is dependent on event forcing strength and temporal proximity to the peak of the sea surface warming. A composite approach centered on maximum Nino-3.4 SSTs and lag relationships to energy fluxes and transports is used to identify mechanisms supporting tropical land warming. The composite necessarily moderates weather-scale variability of the individual events while retaining the systematic features across all events. We find that reduced continental upward motions lead to reduced cloudiness and more shortwave radiation at the surface, as well as reduced precipitation. The increased shortwave heating at the land surface, along with reduced soil moisture, leads to warmer surface temperature, more sensible heating, and warming of the lower troposphere. The composite provides a broad picture of the mechanisms governing the hydrologic response to El Nino forcing, but the regional and temporal responses can vary substantially for any given event. The 2015/16 El Nino, one of the strongest events, demonstrates some of the forced response noted in the composite, but with shifts in the evolution that depart from the composite, demonstrating the limitations of the composite and individuality of El Nino.