CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages: TRMM PFM Edition 2

CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages TRMM PFM Edition2 is a satellite-derived Earth radiation budget data product. It contains monthly, spatially-averaged top-of-atmosphere short-wave and long-wave fluxes, sorted by 2.5-degree regions, day, and local hour, with clear-sky and total-sky scene averages. The data was collected by the CERES proto flight model instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) platform, with collection now complete.

Use Cases

• Modeling Earth's energy budget based on top-of-atmosphere short-wave and long-wave flux averages.
• Analyzing diurnal radiation cycles based on hourly average fluxes and scene identification data.
• Studying regional climate variability based on 2.5-degree spatial region averages.
• Validating climate models based on ERBE-like algorithm-derived monthly regional averages.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete, providing a finalized record.
• Uses algorithms identical to the established Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) for consistency.
• Provides averages for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes, enabling comparative analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite radiometric measurements from the CERES-PFM instrument on the TRMM platform.

Time Range

Collection began after the TRMM launch on November 27, 1997; specific temporal coverage is not detailed.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:05:51.294261; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage, with data sorted into 2.5-degree spatial regions.