Received: 25 Jan 2018 – Discussion started: 16 Feb 2018 – Revised: 28 Jul 2018 – Accepted: 30 Jul 2018 – Published: 21 Aug 2018
Abstract. Small changes in the radiation budget at the earth's surface can lead to large climatological responses when persistent over time. With the increasing debate on anthropogenic influences on climatic processes during the 1980s the need for accurate radiometric measurements with higher temporal resolution was identified, and it was determined that the existing measurement networks did not have the resolution or accuracy required to meet this need. In 1988 the WMO therefore proposed the establishment of a new international Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), which should collect and centrally archive high-quality ground-based radiation measurements in 1 min resolution. BSRN began its work in 1992 with 9 stations; currently (status 2018-01-01), the network comprises 59 stations (delivering data to the archive) and 9 candidates (stations recently accepted into the network with data forthcoming to the archive) distributed over all continents and oceanic environments. The BSRN database is the World Radiation Monitoring Center (WRMC). It is hosted at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany, and now offers more than 10 300 months of data from the years 1992 to 2017. All data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.880000 free of charge.
The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) collects and centrally archives high-quality ground-based radiation measurements in 1 min resolution. More than 10 300 months, i.e., > 850 years, of high-radiation data in 1 min resolution from the years 1992 to 2017 are available. The network currently comprises 59 stations collectively representing all seven continents as well as island-based stations in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans.
The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) collects and centrally archives high-quality...