Release_Notes

July 2018

AER Extraterrestrial Solar Irradiance Package
extract_solar_v1.5

Solar irradiance based on the NRLSSI2 model (Lean and Woods, 2010) has been implemented -- we recommend that users 
use this specfication. NRLSSI2 models solar variability, and AER's extract_solar package used in conjunction with LBLRTM
now allows a number of options to handle variability consistent with NRLSSI2. To this end, extract_solar now includes 
a new database that consists of three components:
- a component that does not vary with solar cycle, constructed by merging functions from separate spectral regions that
together span 100-86500 cm-1 at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1: 1) from 4000-14800 cm-1, the high-resolution solar 
transmittance data from Toon scaled to be consistent with the coarser irradiance values of NRLSSI2; 2) from 100-4000 cm-1 
and 14800-49980 cm-1, the high-resolution Kurucz irradiance values scaled to be consistent with the coarser irradiance values
 of NRLSSI2; 3) from 49980-86500 cm-1, the coarse resolution NRLSSI2 irradiance values interpolated to 0.01 cm-1.
- NRLSSI2 facular brightening component at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1. This component varies with solar cycle.
 The high-resolution values, when integrated in each NRLSSI2 channel, reproduce the respective NRLSSI2 irradiance values.
- NRLSSI2 sunspot darkening component at a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1. This component varies with solar cycle.
 The high-resolution values, when integrated in each NRLSSI2 channel, reproduce the respective NRLSSI2 irradiance values.
These latter two terms are stored for average solar activity conditions for Solar Cycles 13-24, as specified by NRLSSI2.

The extract_solar package also has a database that consists of the sum of these three components. We recommend that users 
not interested in solar variability use the option that is based on this combined database.

extract_solar can generate a binary (SOLAR.RAD) or ascii file that utilizes this combined database. Alternatively, the code
will extract (in binary or ascii) all three of the individual components, which can be combined in multiple ways when 
running LBLRTM (see LBLRTM instructions).

The code retains its previous capability to generate a binary or ascii file based on the high-resolution Kurucz database 
(50-50000 cm-1) (Kurucz, 1992).


Lean, J. and T.N. Woods, Solar spectral irradiance measurements and models, 
in Evolving Solar Physics and the Climates of Earth and Space, K. Schrijver 
and G. Siscoe Eds, Cambridge University Press,269-298, 2010.

Kurucz, R.L., Synthetic infrared spectra, in Infrared Solar Physics,
IAU Symp. 154, edited by D.M. Rabin and J.T. Jefferies, Kluwer, Acad.,
Norwell, MA, 1992.