The controversial early brightening in the first half of 20th century: A contribution from pyrheliometer measurements in Madrid (Spain)

A long-term decrease in downward surface solar radiation from the 1950s to the 1980s (“global dimming”) followed by a multi-decadal increase up to the present (“brightening”) has been detected in many regions worldwide. In addition, some researchers have suggested the existence of an “early brightening” period in the first half of the 20th century. However, this latter phenomenon is an open issue due to the opposite results found in literature and the scarcity of solar radiation data during this period. This paper contributes to this relevant discussion analyzing, for the first time in Southern Europe, the atmospheric column transparency derived from pyrheliometer measurements in Madrid (Spain) for the period 1911–1928. This time series is one of the three longest datasets during the first quarter of the 20th century in Europe. The results showed the great effects of the Katmai eruption (June 1912, Alaska) on transparency values during 1912–1913 with maximum relative anomalies around 8%. Outside the period affected by this volcano, the atmospheric transparency exhibited a stable behavior with a slight negative trend without any statistical significance on an annual and seasonal basis. Overall, there is no evidence of a possible early brightening period in direct solar radiation in Madrid. This phenomenon is currently an open issue and further research is needed using the few sites with available experimental records during the first half of the 20th century.