Estimation of the shortwave and longwave radiations budgets at the earth's surface plays an important role in numerous classes of agricultural problems, including irrigation scheduling, frost protection, pest management, foliar disease prevention and many others. Surface-based meaurement of terrestrial radiation is not economically feasible at the horizontal scales required by many agricultural applications. Satellites, however, can provide frequent and routine high-resolution estimates of both shortwave and longwave radiation components. We describe procedures by which measurements from geostationary satellites provide real-time estimates of incident shortwave radiation and downwelling longwave radiation at the earth's surface. Examples of the application of these radiation data to the areas of irrigation scheduling, frost protection and foliar disease prevention are presented.
Special Session -- Weather Data Requirements for Integrated Pest Management