CERES Terra Edition4A: Hourly Regional TOA Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols

CERES Regionally Averaged TOA Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols Hourly Terra Edition4A provides daily averages of top-of-atmosphere fluxes, cloud, and aerosol data on a 1-degree latitude and longitude grid. The product uses CERES Flight Model 1 and FM2 instruments on the Terra satellite, launched December 18, 1999, and incorporates incoming solar irradiance from the SORCE and TSI missions. Cloud properties are stratified into four atmospheric layers and averaged for day-only and 24-hour periods.

Use Cases

• Model Earth's radiative energy budget based on TOA fluxes for longwave, shortwave, and window wavelength bands.
• Analyze cloud distribution and properties based on four atmospheric layer stratifications.
• Study aerosol impacts on atmospheric radiation based on co-located imager instantaneous averages.
• Validate climate models using regionally averaged, temporally interpolated daily flux data.
• Track solar irradiance influence on climate using SORCE and TSI-derived incoming solar daily irradiance.

Strengths

• Data is collected from the CERES Flight Model 1 and FM2 instruments on the Terra satellite, a key Earth Observing System component.
• Cloud properties are provided for four specific atmospheric layers and for total layers.
• TOA fluxes are provided for both clear-sky and all-sky conditions across three wavelength bands.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data collection is described as 'in progress'; completeness may vary.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected using CERES Flight Model 1 (FM1) and FM2 instruments on the Terra platform.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:54:25.398478; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage on a 1-degree latitude and longitude grid.