Estimating global surface solar irradiance using Landsat satellite data for three sites in Algeria

Exploiting remote sensing data is a promising approach to estimate surface solar irradiance (SSI). In this study, we propose a method to estimate global SSI using a lookup table and Landsat data. Despite the low temporal resolution of the data used, the developed method produces SSI maps with adequate spatial resolution. It combines physical parameters extracted from Landsat metadata files with the physical laws governing global solar irradiance, its transmission through the atmosphere, and surface reflectance. The results obtained are compared with those in the literature, particularly one study that uses Meteosat data and two others that use radiometric spectral and temporal models. Additionally, experiments are conducted at three sites in Algeria: Oran, In Amenas, and Tamanghasset. The findings indicate that the proposed approach aligns with the tested literature methods while providing SSI maps with superior spatial resolution. Furthermore, the obtained solar irradiances exhibit a root mean square error of approximately 190 W.m⁻².µm⁻¹ compared with those of the Bird and Riordan spectral model, and approximately 50 W·m⁻² compared with the results from the Bird and Hulstrom temporal model, and are also comparable to the results of previous studies.