High-resolution net-shortwave and net-radiation products for Europe

Net radiation (Rn) is a key control on land–atmosphere exchanges and a primary forcing for transpiration modelling. However, commonly used radiation products often lack the spatial resolution required to resolve soil–plant–atmosphere interactions in heterogeneous landscapes, limiting their applicability for water management studies. Here, we present a new daily net shortwave and net radiation dataset for Europe at 1-arcminute (~1.4 km) spatial resolution covering the period 2001–2020, developed to support high-resolution transpiration modelling using the Priestley–Taylor approach.

The dataset is generated through the integration of multiple complementary data sources, combining station-based downward shortwave radiation from the EMO-1 dataset, satellite-derived longwave radiation from the ELITE product, and a physically based estimation of blue-sky albedo derived from GLASS black and white-sky albedo products, together with information on photosynthetically active radiation from BESS.

Evaluation against FLUXNET observations reveals that the high-resolution net shortwave radiation product outperforms the coarser ERA5-Land reanalysis across 7 of 9 analyzed European countries, with particularly strong improvements in topographically complex regions, such as the Alps, and in heterogeneous land-use areas. However, the net radiation product shows larger uncertainties in semi-arid regions and during high-latitude winter conditions, reflecting known limitations in satellite-based radiation retrievals. Nevertheless, the high spatial resolution represents a valuable contribution to remote-sensing-based water cycle studies, drought assessment, and land-surface modeling.