NASA - FLASHFlux

The Fast Longwave And SHortwave Radiative Fluxes (FLASHFlux) project was initiated at the NASA Langley Research Center to meet the needs of the science community for global near real-time surface and TOA radiative fluxes. This was accomplished by speeding up the processing of CERES and MODIS TOA observations with fast radiation algorithms to produce the fluxes within about a week of satellite measurements.

FLASHFlux provides near real-time quantification of surface radiative fluxes which are important for understanding the impact of changes to the Earth's surface and the atmospheric state on surface radiative fluxes. This constitutes an important step in the understanding of weather and climate processes. Timely analysis of these fluxes also helps to characterize their spatial and temporal variability on regional and global scales. ( More)

FLASHFlux project has developed software and protocols necessary for disseminating near real-time estimates of shortwave (solar) and longwave (terrestrial) flux products to climate and ocean modelers, satellite science teams, and renewable energy and agricultural industries. ( More)

FLASHFlux production of near real-time surface and TOA radiative fluxes is important for its scientific value and linkages to several existing surface radiation projects. ( More)