SatCORPS CERES GEO: Cloud and Radiation Properties from MTSAT-1R

CER_GEO_Ed4_MTS01_NH_V01 is a NASA CERES project dataset providing hourly cloud micro-physical and radiation properties derived from the MTSAT-1R geostationary satellite. Data collection is complete, with observations at 4 km resolution (sub-sampled to 8 km) and files arranged hourly in netCDF-4 format. The CERES program, a key Earth Observing System component, follows the ERBE mission, with its first instrument launched in 1997 and the latest in 2017.

Use Cases

• Modeling the Earth's diurnal radiation cycle based on hourly cloud property estimates.
• Analyzing cloud micro-physical properties over the Northern Hemisphere based on geostationary satellite data.
• Estimating radiative fluxes between CERES instrument measurements based on merged global cloud properties.
• Studying atmospheric energy balance based on broadband radiometric measurements from the CERES program.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a finalized record.
• Observations are at 4 km spatial resolution at nadir.
• Provides hourly temporal resolution for analyzing diurnal cycles.
• Derived using established Langley Research Center (LaRC) SatCORPS algorithms.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the Northern Hemisphere.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from the Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Instrument on the MTSAT-1R satellite using SatCORPS algorithms.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 12 22:08:49.118959; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Hemisphere