CERES Aqua Edition4A: Monthly TOA Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols on a 1-Degree Grid

Aqua satellite data provides monthly averages of top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes, cloud, and aerosol properties on a 1-degree latitude and longitude grid. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments FM3 and FM4 on the Aqua platform collect this data, with collection ongoing since the satellite's launch in May 2002. Fluxes are provided for clear-sky and all-sky conditions across longwave, shortwave, and window wavelength bands.

Use Cases

• Modeling Earth's radiation budget based on top-of-atmosphere longwave and shortwave flux data.
• Analyzing cloud property stratification based on four atmospheric layer classifications.
• Studying aerosol impacts on atmospheric radiation based on co-located imager aerosol values.
• Investigating solar irradiance influences using SORCE and Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) data.
• Comparing day-only versus 24-hour averaged cloud properties for diurnal cycle studies.

Strengths

• Data is collected from the CERES Flight Model 3 (FM3) and FM4 instruments on the Aqua satellite, a key Earth Observing System (EOS) component.
• Fluxes are provided for clear-sky and all-sky conditions across three specific wavelength bands: longwave (LW), shortwave (SW), and window (WN).
• Cloud properties are stratified into four atmospheric layers and averaged for both day-only and 24-hour periods.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the Aqua satellite's operational period.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected using the CERES Flight Model 3 (FM3) and FM4 instruments on the Aqua platform.

Time Range

Collection ongoing since Aqua launch on May 4, 2002.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:57:04.483849; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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