CERES MODIS Cloud Retrievals: Nighttime Terra FM2 Monthly Gridded Data

Monthly and 3-hourly gridded regional mean cloud properties from the CERES-FM2 and MODIS instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites. The data stratifies cloud properties by pressure, optical depth, and phase across 18 cloud types, with coverage from pole to pole. This Edition 3A product is produced by NASA's CERES program, a key component of the Earth Observing System.

Use Cases

• Analyzing diurnal cloud property variations based on the 3-hourly (GMT-based) temporal resolution.
• Classifying cloud climatology based on the 18 cloud types stratified by pressure, optical depth, and phase.
• Validating or comparing cloud retrieval algorithms based on the CERES cloud working group methodology.
• Studying polar to global cloud coverage patterns based on the pole-to-pole spatial coverage.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a stable historical record.
• Provides cloud fractions for 42 cloud types, similar to the ISCCP D1 product.
• Separate daytime and nighttime datasets for both Terra-MODIS and Aqua-MODIS allow for diurnal cycle analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The CERES MODIS-derived cloud properties are not the official NASA MODIS cloud retrievals.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected using the CERES-FM2 and MODIS instruments on the Terra platform and MODIS on the Aqua platform, processed from the Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data product.

Time Range

Each file covers a single month; specific date range is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:04:35.618360; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from pole to pole.