Radiative fluxes from satellites: Focus on aerosols

An existing scheme to derive radiative fluxes from satellite observations has been modified so it can incorporate more detailed information on aerosol properties at a global scale. In this paper we describe the modifications introduced and the experiments performed to learn how to optimally use the new information with available global‐scale satellite data, and we evaluate the impact of the new information and scheme on the accuracy of the satellite‐based estimates of surface fluxes by comparison with ground observations of highest available quality. Specifically, we incorporate a spectral variation of intensive aerosol properties, identify an optimal procedure of coupling aerosol information with satellite observations, and demonstrate improvements achieved in inferring surface fluxes.