Surface meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE) Release Announcement

The Atmospheric Sciences Data Center at NASA Langley Research Center in collaboration with the Surface meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE) data provider announces the availability of SSE Release 5.

The following represents the major changes found in SSE Release 5 relative to SSE Release 4:

1. Seventy-two solar radiation and cloud parameters were replaced with true 1 x 1 degree data. SSE Release 4 was on a 1 x 1 degree grid interpolated from 2.5 x 2.5 degree data.

2. SSE Release 5 horizontal surface insolation values are calculated using version 2.1 of the Pinker and Laszlo algorithm (see SSE Methodology for original algorithm, Ref. [3]) as processed under the NASA/Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) DX data are used as input into the algorithm and to derive the cloud information including cloud diurnal cycle. Additional parameters available to the user and calculated on the fly via the SSE web interface also inherit these improvements.

3. A new wind parameter, the Monthly Averaged Wind Speed Adjusted For Height And Vegetation Type, can be calculated for 17 different surface vegetation types and for any height from 10 to 300 meters. The vegetation type and height are specified by the user. The Gipe Power Law is used to calculate a new wind speed from the wind speed at 50 meters above the surface that is computed from output of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) version 1 analysis. Validation of surface winds using this approach at airports and other surfaces is provided in the SSE Accuracy and Methodology sections. Global/regional plots for wind speed at 100 and 150 meters are also available.

4. Another new parameter is monthly averaged precipitation from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Version 2 Combined Precipitation Data Set.

5. Release 5 includes an interface between the SSE data set and the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER). The HOMER software, used for designing stand alone electric power systems, seamlessly ingests SSE solar radiation data without a web browser. SSE/HOMER data tables are also presented on the SSE web site.

A more detailed discussion of SSE Release 5 is available in the Methodology section of the SSE web site.

The SSE web site currently is supported through NASA's Earth-Sun System Applied Sciences Program. More information about this program can be found at the web site: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/earth-sun/applications/.

SSE is supported through the Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) project under the Energy Management program, one of Twelve Applications of National Priority. Continued and future support to expand the SSE data portal to include parameters derived from more recent satellite observations, as well as to develop prototypes relevant to other energy-related themes (e.g., architectural and agricultural industries) will depend, in part, on our ability to quantify/demonstrate the impact the SSE data is having in your applications. To that end we would certainly appreciate your comments about the importance and usefulness of SSE to your work. We would also appreciate comments regarding the savings of time and money because of SSE. If you have used SSE in a Decision Support System of any type (i.e., renewable energy system design, system maintenance, project planning, policy making, etc.) or in a publication, we would appreciate receiving any comments regarding the impact that the data has had to your work. Suggestions for future improvements are welcome.