CERES GEO Cloud Retrievals: Monthly Gridded Cloud Properties

Geostationary satellite data provides monthly and 3-hourly gridded regional mean cloud properties, stratified by pressure, optical depth, and phase across 18 cloud types. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments, launched on multiple missions from 1997 to 2017, collected this daytime-only product for spatial consistency. Data collection for this product is complete.

Use Cases

• Validate global cloud climatology models based on the 18 cloud type stratifications.
• Analyze diurnal cloud property variations based on the monthly 3-hourly GMT time intervals.
• Study cloud radiative forcing based on cloud properties stratified by optical depth and phase.
• Compare geostationary-only cloud retrievals with other satellite products based on the visible and IR channel methodology.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a finalized historical record.
• Cloud properties are stratified by 18 types based on pressure, optical depth, and phase.
• Incorporates data from 5 geostationary satellites and CERES instruments launched across multiple missions from 1997 to 2017.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The product is daytime-only and limited to visible and IR channels, excluding nighttime data.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Radiometric measurements from CERES instruments on geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:57:59.976014; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from geostationary satellites.