Climate and Forecast Standard Names
Mapping to be determined
direct_downwelling_shortwave_flux_in_air
"Direct" (also known as "beam") radiation is radiation that has followed a direct path from the sun and is alternatively known as "direct insolation". Downwelling radiation is radiation from above. It does not mean "net downward". The sign convention is that "upwelling" is positive upwards and "downwelling" is positive downwards. The term "shortwave" means shortwave radiation. When thought of as being incident on a surface, a radiative flux is sometimes called "irradiance". In addition, it is identical with the quantity measured by a cosine-collector light-meter and sometimes called "vector irradiance". In accordance with common usage in geophysical disciplines, "flux" implies per unit area, called "flux density" in physics.