FLASHFlux Version 4B: Daily Gridded Satellite Radiative Fluxes

FLASHFlux Version 4B provides low-latency (< 7 days) daily gridded top-of-atmosphere and surface radiative flux data from combined Terra and NOAA-20 satellite observations. The data is produced by NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) project for applied science uses, using algorithms derived from the CERES climate mission but with relaxed calibration for rapid release. It combines CERES instrument measurements with higher-resolution imager data from MODIS and VIIRS, and meteorological data from the GEOS-5 assimilation system.

Use Cases

• Monitoring short-term atmospheric energy budget changes based on daily gridded top-of-atmosphere fluxes.
• Parameterizing surface radiative fluxes for weather and environmental models using the Langley algorithms.
• Analyzing cloud properties and their radiative effects based on imager-derived scene information averaged over CERES footprints.
• Studying regional radiative forcing variations using the globally gridded, low-latency data product.

Strengths

• Data is released with low latency, less than 7 days from observation.
• Combines measurements from multiple satellite platforms (Terra and NOAA-20).
• Integrates data from multiple sensor systems (CERES, MODIS, VIIRS, GEOS-5 ADAS).

Limitations

• The description explicitly states FLASHFlux products are not intended to achieve climate data quality, with some calibration accuracy relaxed for speed.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) project.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from CERES instruments on Terra and NOAA-20 spacecraft, combined with imager data (MODIS, VIIRS) and assimilated meteorological data (GEOS-5 ADAS).

Time Range

Data collection is in progress; temporal coverage is not explicitly stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:44:43.436848; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Globally gridded data.