SatCORPS CERES GEO: Hourly Cloud and Radiation Properties from GOES-18

Hourly cloud microphysical and radiation properties derived from GOES-18 geostationary satellite imager data. The data product is generated by the Langley Research Center SatCORPS algorithms in support of the CERES project, using the Advanced Baseline Imager. Observations are at a 2-km resolution at nadir and sub-sampled to 6 km, with data stored in netCDF-4 format.

Use Cases

• Modeling Earth's radiation budget based on derived cloud and radiation properties.
• Analyzing cloud microphysical property trends over the Northern Hemisphere based on hourly satellite data.
• Validating atmospheric models using cloud retrievals informed by MERRA-2 reanalysis data.
• Studying diurnal cycles of cloud properties based on hourly geostationary observations.

Strengths

• Data is derived from the Advanced Baseline Imager on the GOES-18 platform, a specific source.
• Observations are at a 2-km resolution at nadir, a specific spatial detail.
• Uses Version 1.4 of the algorithm with MERRA-2 reanalysis for atmospheric input, a specific version detail.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from GOES-18 ABI imager data using Langley Research Center SatCORPS algorithms.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 21:42:09.559125; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Hemisphere