Earth Science

Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS)

Orbiter · Directed · Agency-led · Launched on October 5, 1984 · Completed · LCC: $40M/$164M (2025 $)Life-cycle cost: NASA’s reported cost to build, launch, and operate a mission through its prime mission, plus documented partner contributions, in 2025 dollars. Extended missions are not included. Methods · Wikipedia

Scope Active Mission WindowActivePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through two years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. For ERBS, papers published November 1, 1984 to November 1, 2007. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. For ERBS, papers published from 1984 to November 3, 2026. Methods
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed papers we found that name the mission or its instruments in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. Papers that used the data without naming it are missed. Methods837
CitationsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods36,283
Citation indices
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. Methods91
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. Methods154
m-indexm-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; the figure shown is as of November 3, 2026. It also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods2.1
toritori (total research impact, from SciX): 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. Always over every tracked publication to date, whichever scope is chosen. Methods342
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. Like tori, always over every tracked publication to date. Methods429

Publications and citations by year (lifetime)

Publications per yearCumulative citations

Institutional contributions (lifetime)The institutions SciX lists for each paper’s authors, as printed on the paper, located through the Research Organization Registry. A square counts a paper once, however many of its authors worked there. Methods

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Tracked publications over the lifetime (837)

All publications CSV · JSON

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

    Ramanathan, V., 1989, Sci

    1,299 lifetime citations

  2. The Seasonal Cycle of Low Stratiform Clouds.

    Klein, Stephen A., 1993, JCli

    1,255 lifetime 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

    838 lifetime citations

  4. Estimates of Meridional Atmosphere and Ocean Heat Transports.

    Trenberth, Kevin E., 2001, JCli

    611 lifetime citations

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

    Hartmann, Dennis L., 1992, JCli

    573 lifetime citations

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

    Harrison, E. F., 1990, JGR

    431 lifetime citations

  7. Distribution of tropospheric ozone determined from satellite data

    Fishman, Jack, 1990, JGR

    359 lifetime citations

  8. The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE).

    Barkstrom, B. R., 1984, BAMS

    343 lifetime citations

  9. Observational determination of the greenhouse effect

    Raval, A., 1989, Natur

    312 lifetime citations

  10. SAGE II measurements of early Pinatubo aerosols

    McCormick, M. P., 1992, GeoRL

    310 lifetime citations

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

    Webb, M., 2001, ClDy

    307 lifetime citations

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

    del Genio, Anthony D., 1996, JCli

    305 lifetime citations

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

    Vernier, J.-P., 2011, GeoRL

    300 lifetime citations

  14. Radiative forcing from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption

    Stenchikov, Georgiy L., 1998, JGR

    297 lifetime citations

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

    Ganachaud, Alexandre, 2003, JCli

    291 lifetime citations

  16. 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

    277 lifetime citations

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

    Wang, Pi-Huan, 1996, JGR

    275 lifetime citations

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

    Ramanathan, V., 1987, JGR

    262 lifetime citations

  19. Radiative Climate Forcing by the Mount Pinatubo Eruption

    Minnis, P., 1993, Sci

    252 lifetime citations

  20. Ozone database in support of CMIP5 simulations: results and corresponding radiative forcing

    Cionni, I., 2011, ACP

    234 lifetime citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Science Explorer (SciX) for peer-reviewed articles naming ERBS in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces.

((=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 "ACPD" OR "AIASJ" OR "AMTD" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "BGD" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "CliPD" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "ESDD" OR "ESSDD" OR "ESuDD" OR "GID" OR "GMDD" OR "GeCAS" OR "HESSD" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NHESD" OR "NPGD" OR "NewSc" OR "OcScD" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SOILD" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "TCD" 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 🤖