CERES NOAA-20: Monthly Top-of-Atmosphere Fluxes and Cloud Properties

Global monthly averages of Earth's radiant energy fluxes and cloud properties on a 1-degree latitude/longitude grid from the NOAA-20 satellite. The dataset begins May 1, 2018 and is produced by NASA's CERES instrument using VIIRS imager-defined scenes. It provides top-of-atmosphere shortwave and longwave fluxes for both clear-sky and total sky conditions.

Use Cases

• Analyzing Earth's radiation budget based on monthly mean top-of-atmosphere shortwave and longwave fluxes.
• Studying cloud radiative forcing based on cloud properties stratified into four atmospheric layers.
• Monitoring climate variables over time based on temporally interpolated, hourly-gridded flux data.
• Investigating cloud microphysics based on properties like optical depth, emissivity, phase, and water particle size.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage on a 1-degree grid.
• Data begins on a specific date: May 1, 2018.
• Fluxes are provided for both clear-sky and total sky conditions.
• Cloud properties are averaged for 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.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Monthly averages derived from CERES FM6 instrument data on the NOAA-20 satellite, using VIIRS radiances and CERES-specific retrievals.

Time Range

From May 1, 2018 onward.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:51:37.052001; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global