Radiation balance investigations using METEOSAT data

The exact knowledge of the components of the radiation balance is very important both in climatology and weather forecasting. The geostationary satellites give a new opportunity for monitoring the radiation balance components because of their excellent temporal resolution. In the present investigation, which started four years ago, the authors´ purpose was to develop a relatively simple, fast method to estimate the radiation balance components for the Central European region from METEOSAT digital images. First a method for estimating the solar radiation reaching the surface was developed. Then computer programs for calculating the downward longwave radiation and the net radiation were constructed. In this paper an attempt is made to apply the model to an extended area calculating hourly average values