Earth Science

ERBS

843 tracked publications and 35,972 citations from 1984–2026. Earth Radiation Budget Satellite. Launched 1984. Life-cycle cost: $164M in 2025 dollars. Active Mission Window November 1, 1984 to November 1, 2007: 676 publications, 59 top-10% credit.

Orbiter · h-index 90 · 81 papers with 100+ citations · prime mission ended 1986

Lifetime

Scope Papers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods Papers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the prime mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods Every tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. Methods

Key measures

Active Mission Window · papers November 1, 1984 to November 1, 2007
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods676
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods5,296
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods7.8
Median citations per publicationMedian citations: the middle paper’s citation count in the selected scope; half the papers have more, half fewer. A single blockbuster sways it less than the mean. Methods5
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods102 (15%)
Top-10% creditTop 10%: among the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions, ranked against papers published around the same time. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. Methods59 · 1.5% of division
Top-1% creditTop 1%: among the 1% most-cited papers from this division’s missions within the selected window. Not adjusted for publication year. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. Methods2.3 · 0.61% of division
Lifetime indices · every tracked publication to date, in any scope
h-indexh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. Methods90
g-indexg-index: the largest g for which the g most-cited papers together hold at least g² citations. Like the h-index, but it lets the most-cited papers count for more. Methods153
m-index, as of October 4, 2026m-index: a mission’s h-index divided by the years since its first peer-reviewed paper. It falls every 1 January even when nothing else changes, so it belongs to the date shown; it also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods2.1
toritori (total research impact, from ADS): for every paper citing one of the mission’s papers, 1 divided by the citing paper’s reference count times the cited paper’s author count, summed, with self-citations removed. It favors citations from papers with short reference lists and from outside the mission’s own authors. Computed over the tracked citation graph, which can be slightly incomplete. Methods330
riqriq (research impact quotient): 1,000 times the square root of tori, divided by the years since the mission’s first paper. A rate, not a total, so it does not keep growing with age the way the h-index and tori do. Methods422

Tracked publications

  1. Cloud-Radiative Forcing and Climate: Results from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment

    Ramanathan, V., 1989, Sci

    1,281 citations

  2. The Seasonal Cycle of Low Stratiform Clouds.

    Klein, Stephen A., 1993, JCli

    1,235 citations

  3. Calculation of radiative fluxes from the surface to top of atmosphere based on ISCCP and other global data sets: Refinements of the radiative transfer model and the input data

    Zhang, Yuanchong, 2004, JGRD

    834 citations

  4. Estimates of Meridional Atmosphere and Ocean Heat Transports.

    Trenberth, Kevin E., 2001, JCli

    594 citations

  5. The Effect of Cloud Type on Earth's Energy Balance: Global Analysis.

    Hartmann, Dennis L., 1992, JCli

    567 citations

  6. Seasonal variation of cloud radiative forcing derived from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment

    Harrison, E. F., 1990, JGR

    430 citations

  7. Distribution of tropospheric ozone determined from satellite data

    Fishman, Jack, 1990, JGR

    357 citations

  8. The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE).

    Barkstrom, B. R., 1984, BAMS

    342 citations

  9. SAGE II measurements of early Pinatubo aerosols

    McCormick, M. P., 1992, GeoRL

    310 citations

  10. Observational determination of the greenhouse effect

    Raval, A., 1989, Natur

    306 citations

  11. A Prognostic Cloud Water Parameterization for Global Climate Models.

    del Genio, Anthony D., 1996, JCli

    303 citations

  12. Combining ERBE and ISCCP data to assess clouds in the Hadley Centre, ECMWF and LMD atmospheric climate models

    Webb, M., 2001, ClDy

    303 citations

  13. Major influence of tropical volcanic eruptions on the stratospheric aerosol layer during the last decade

    Vernier, J.-P., 2011, GeoRL

    296 citations

  14. Radiative forcing from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption

    Stenchikov, Georgiy L., 1998, JGR

    291 citations

  15. Large-Scale Ocean Heat and Freshwater Transports during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment.

    Ganachaud, Alexandre, 2003, JCli

    286 citations

  16. A 6-year climatology of cloud occurrence frequency from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II observations (1985-1990)

    Wang, Pi-Huan, 1996, JGR

    274 citations

  17. Line-by-line calculation of atmospheric fluxes and cooling rates: 2. Application to carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide and the halocarbons

    Clough, S. A., 1995, JGR

    270 citations

  18. The role of earth radiation budget studies in climate and general circulation research

    Ramanathan, V., 1987, JGR

    258 citations

  19. Radiative Climate Forcing by the Mount Pinatubo Eruption

    Minnis, P., 1993, Sci

    247 citations

  20. A global climatology of stratospheric aerosol surface area density deduced from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II measurements: 1984-1994

    Thomason, L. W., 1997, JGR

    228 citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Astrophysics Data System (ADS) for peer-reviewed articles naming ERBS in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces. SciX is ADS’s current interface.

((=abs:("Earth Radiation Budget Satellite" OR "Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II") OR (=abs:"Earth Radiation Budget Experiment" NOT abs:Nimbus NOT =abs:("Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget" OR "Moon and Earth Radiation Budget")) OR (abs:ERBS AND abs:(stratospher* OR troposph* OR ozone OR aerosol OR aerosols OR cloud OR clouds OR cloudiness OR radiative OR irradiance OR albedo OR longwave OR shortwave OR occultation OR volcanic OR ="water vapor" OR NO2 OR ERBE OR SAGE OR OLR OR nonscanner OR scanner OR ="radiation budget")) OR (abs:ERBE AND abs:(atmosphere OR atmospheric OR stratospher* OR troposph* OR mesospher* OR ozone OR aerosol OR aerosols OR cloud OR clouds OR cloudiness OR radiation OR radiative OR irradiance OR climate OR albedo OR flux OR fluxes OR longwave OR shortwave OR limb OR occultation OR volcanic OR ="water vapor" OR NO2 OR satellite)) OR (=abs:("SAGE II" OR "SAGE I and II") AND abs:(atmosphere OR atmospheric OR stratospher* OR troposph* OR mesospher* OR ozone OR aerosol OR aerosols OR cloud OR clouds OR occultation OR extinction OR volcanic OR ="water vapor" OR NO2 OR limb OR climate)))) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[1984-11 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "AIASJ" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NewSc" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Removed after review (10)

  1. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES): An Earth Observing System Experiment. Overview of the CERES investigation; mentions ERBE only as heritage and the record it extends. Decision 🤖
  2. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES): algorithm overview Overview of CERES algorithms; mentions ERBE only as heritage and the record it extends. Decision 🤖
  3. The CLoud─Aerosol─Radiation Interaction and Forcing: Year 2017 (CLARIFY-2017) measurement campaign Overview of an aircraft campaign; does not name ERBS or its instruments. Decision 🤖
  4. Study of aerosol impact on the earth radiation budget with satellite data Aerosol study using AVHRR and ScaRaB data; does not concern ERBS. Decision 🤖
  5. Aerosol impact on the earth radiation budget from satellite data - a study in support of the geostationary earth radiation budget experiment Aerosol study in support of the GERB instrument; does not concern ERBS. Decision 🤖
  6. Evaluating the Design of an Earth Radiation Budget Instrument with System Simulations. Part II: Minimization of Instantaneous Sampling Errors for CERES-I Design simulations for the CERES instrument; does not concern ERBS. Decision 🤖
  7. Angular sampling of a monochromatic, wide-field-of-view camera to augment next-generation Earth radiation budget satellite observations Concept study for the future Libera mission; does not concern ERBS. Decision 🤖
  8. Optimizing Surface Type Definitions in Radiance-to-Irradiance Conversions for Future Earth Radiation Budget Satellite Measurements Method study for the future Libera mission; does not concern ERBS. Decision 🤖
  9. Towards real-time PGS range monitoring in proton therapy of prostate cancer ERBs here are endorectal balloons in proton therapy; unrelated to the satellite. Decision 🤖
  10. Low-energy Auger and conversion electron spectroscopy of ⁹⁹Mo β⁻-decay ERBS here is an electron backscattering technique; unrelated to the satellite. Decision 🤖