Temporal variability of the outgoing infrared flux from NFOV daily data - Comparison between NOAA and Nimbus-7 polar orbiting satellites

Daily mean measurements of longwave radiation recorded by the NOAA and Nimbus-7 polar orbiting satellites were used to compute the seasonal average and standard deviation of the outgoing longwave radiation for the time periods, June-August 1979 and December 1979-February 1980. The goal of the study was to estimate the temporal variability of climate on a global scale for a specific spatial resolution when spectral narrowband was converted to broadband, or when spectral broadband measurements of the longwave component of the radiation balance were used. It was found that both sets of narrow field-or-view data can be used to study short term variations in climate. The NOAA data are used to compute time lagged autocorrelation coefficients of the outgoing IR flux. Zonal averages and global maps are presented to point out the effect of the diurnal cycle of the cloud top and earth's surface temperatures.