SatCORPS CERES GEO: Cloud and Radiation Properties from GOES-11

Hourly cloud micro-physical and radiation properties derived from GOES-11 geostationary satellite imager data. The dataset is arranged as files for each hour in netCDF-4 format, with observations at 4 km resolution (sub-sampled to 8 km). It was produced by NASA's Langley Research Center using SatCORPS algorithms to support the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project.

Use Cases

• Modeling the Earth's radiation budget based on derived cloud and radiation properties.
• Analyzing diurnal cycles of cloud microphysics based on hourly temporal resolution.
• Studying cloud properties over the Northern Hemisphere based on the spatial coverage.
• Validating climate models using satellite-derived cloud microphysical data.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a stable record for analysis.
• Observations are at a high spatial resolution of 4 km at nadir.
• Derived from a key NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program component (CERES).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; the last metadata update is dated 2026-03-12.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Langley Research Center (LaRC) SatCORPS algorithms.

Collection Method

Derived from GOES-11 Imager data using SatCORPS algorithms supporting the CERES project.

Freshness

Data collection is complete; metadata last updated 2026-03-12.

Geography

Northern Hemisphere coverage from the GOES-11 geostationary satellite.