CERES FluxByCldTyp: Monthly Daytime Cloud Stratified TOA Fluxes

Ongoing data collection from CERES instruments on Terra and Aqua satellites launched in 1999 and 2002. This dataset provides monthly daytime mean top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes and cloud properties, spatially gridded into 1-degree regions and stratified by six cloud optical depth bins and seven cloud effective pressure layers. It is produced by NASA's CERES program, a key Earth Observing System component.

Use Cases

• Analyzing cloud radiative forcing based on cloud optical depth and effective pressure stratification.
• Modeling Earth's radiation budget using monthly daytime mean top-of-atmosphere fluxes.
• Studying cloud property distributions globally using 1-degree gridded CERES-MODIS data.
• Investigating long-term trends in cloud types and their associated fluxes.

Strengths

• Data is stratified by six cloud optical depth bins and seven cloud effective pressure layers.
• Spatially gridded into 1-degree regions along Terra and Aqua satellite ground tracks.
• Derived from CERES Flight Models FM1-FM4 and MODIS instruments, with instruments launched on specific dates (e.g., Terra on December 18, 1999).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is daytime-only and hourly instantaneous, limiting analysis of diurnal cycles.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected using CERES instruments and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua satellites.

Time Range

Ongoing collection; temporal coverage is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:03:59.935332; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global extent.