Composite Solar Spectral Irradiance Data			July 12, 2010
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This file briefly summarizes the composite solar spectral irradiance data 
product.  All of the data files described below are available at the following
location:

   http://sbuv2.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar/composite/

The data provided here are daily average solar spectra over the 
wavelength range 120-400 nm in 1 nm bins, covering the time period 7 November 
1978 to 1 August 2005.  This data set was created by merging the public 
irradiance data products from six different satellite instruments:  SME, 
Nimbus-7 SBUV, NOAA-9 SBUV/2, NOAA-11 SBUV/2, UARS SUSIM, and UARS SOLSTICE.  
A detailed discussion of this process can be found in the PDF file 
'DeLand_and_Cebula_2008.pdf', published in JGR - Space Physics.

The composite spectral irradiance data are provided here as binary files 
produced on a PowerMac workstation, with associated IDL programs to read and 
display the data.  The data files and software are described briefly below.

'comp_dates.unf' = date information (year, day of year, running day number 
   from 1 January 1978) for each available spectrum.
'comp_irrad.unf' = irradiance data for each date covering 120-400 nm in 1 nm 
   bins.  Units = mW/m^2/nm.
'comp_flags.unf' = source flag describing the origin of each irradiance data 
   value.
'comp_uncert_abs.unf' = Absolute uncertainty [percent] for all irradiance 
   data.
'comp_uncert_time.unf' = Time-dependent uncertainty [percent] for all 
   irradiance data.

'comp_spec_public.pro':  Plots absolute irradiance spectrum for any available 
   date.
'comp_spec_public_flag.pro':  Creates a 2-panel plot with the irradiance data 
   in the top panel and the corresponding source flag values for that date in the 
   lower panel.
'comp_time_public.pro':  Plots time series of irradiance data averaged over 
   any selected wavelength band, normalized to the start of the data record.
'comp_time_public_flag.pro':  Creates a 2-panel plot with the normalized time 
   series data in the top panel and the corresponding source flag values for the 
   first wavelength of the selected band in the lower panel.
'comp_uncert_abs_public.pro':  Plots absolute uncertainty values for any 
   available date.
'comp_uncert_time_public.pro':  Plots time-dependent uncertainty values for 
   the first wavelength of any selected wavelength band.

If you have problems using these data, or would prefer a different format 
(e.g. IDL save set), please contact Matt DeLand.


Contact Information
*******************
Matthew DeLand
Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)
10210 Greenbelt Road, Suite 600
Lanham, MD  20706  USA
Ph. +1-301-867-2164
E-mail:  matthew.deland@ssaihq.com