The objectives of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE) are to directly measure clear and cloudy sky shortwave atmospheric absorption and to quantify any absorption found in excess of model predictions. We undertake detailed model comparisons to near-infrared and total solar flux time series observed by surface and airborne radiometric instruments during the ARESE campaign. Model clear-sky absorption biases generally fall within the range of uncertainty generated by sample size, and assumptions of aerosol properties and surface albedo. Direct measurements by stacked aircraft on the overcast day of October 30, 1995, confirm the detection of enhanced cloud shortwave absorption during ARESE. The detection is substantiated by, and consistent with, three independent measures of cloudy sky absorption estimated in previous studies: cloud forcing ratio, insolation forcing ratio, and albedo/transmission slope. A significant portion of the enhanced absorption occurs at visible wavelengths. Collocated measurements of liquid water path (LWP) suggest the magnitude of the enhanced absorption increases with LWP. ¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union