CERES Satellite Radiative Flux and Cloud Property Monthly Averages

CERES_EBAF_Edition4.2 provides monthly and climatological averages of top-of-atmosphere and surface radiative fluxes, constrained by ocean heat storage. The dataset is produced by NASA's Langley Research Center Cloud group using instruments on Terra, Aqua, and NOAA-20 satellites, with data collection ongoing. It represents the project's best estimate of fluxes, incorporating cloud properties from multiple imagers and GEOS meteorological assimilation data.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in Earth's energy imbalance using the TOA net flux variable constrained to ocean heat storage.
• Studying cloud radiative forcing at the surface and TOA using the cloud radiative effect variables derived from the Fu-Liou radiative transfer model.
• Investigating regional cloud properties and their impact on radiation using derived cloud fraction and cloud optical depth/thickness data.
• Validating climate model outputs of shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes against spatially complete, observationally-based monthly averages.
• Assessing the diurnal cycle of clouds and radiation by leveraging input from geostationary satellites alongside polar-orbiting instruments.

Strengths

• Provides regionally complete clear-sky fluxes, unlike other CERES Level 3 products that contain data gaps.
• Integrates data from multiple satellite platforms (Terra, Aqua, NOAA-20) and geostationary satellites for improved diurnal cycle modeling.
• Constrains the TOA net flux to independent ocean heat storage estimates, enhancing physical consistency.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: sources disagree on the edition (4.2 vs. 4.1) and included platforms (NOAA-20 is mentioned in some sources but not others).
• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source, limiting precise technical assessment.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Cloud group (LARC_CLOUD), using CERES Scanner instruments.

Collection Method

Satellite radiometric measurements from three broadband channels, combined with cloud properties from colocated imagers (e.g., MODIS) and processed using the Fu-Liou Radiative Transfer Model with GEOS Version 5.4.1 meteorological data.

Time Range

Data collection is ongoing, with the first instrument launched in 1997; specific start date for Edition 4.2 is not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-13 05:08:25.787046

Geography

Global coverage.