Find out which irradiance field to use about metoffice_ec2 HOT 2 OPEN

Yes surface_downwelling_shortwave_flux_in_air should be the right variable for this purpose.

From http://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-standard-names/71/build/cf-standard-name-table.html:

surface_downwelling_shortwave_flux_in_air
alias: surface_downwelling_shortwave_flux
The surface called "surface" means the lower boundary of the atmosphere. 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. Surface downwelling shortwave is the sum of direct and diffuse solar radiation incident on the surface, and is sometimes called "global 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.

from metoffice_ec2.

Thanks @tv3141 that's very helpful!

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