CERES Monthly Gridded Single Satellite Fluxes and Clouds Aqua FM4 Edition2B

CER_FSW_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Edition2B is the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Fixed Swath Width (FSW) Monthly Gridded Single Satellite Fluxes (SSF) and Clouds Aqua Flight Model 4 (FM4) Edition 2B data product. Data was collected using the CERES Scanner and FM4 on the Aqua platform. Data collection for this product is complete. CER_FSW_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Edition2B includes legacy data covering regional averages of instantaneous footprint computed fluxes [Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA), surface, and in-atmospheric (profile)], associated TOA observed fluxes, and cloud parameters only for the hours of satellite overpass (from the Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) level l2 product). The Monthly Gridded Radiative Fluxes and Clouds (FSW) product contains a month of space and time-averaged CERES data for a single scanner instrument. The FSW is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous fluxes from the CERES CRS product for a month are sorted by 1-degree spatial regions and by the Universal Time (UT) hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-hour bin is determined and recorded on the FSW, along with other flux statistics and scene information. The mean adjusted fluxes at the four atmospheric levels defined by CRS are also included for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. In addition, four cloud height categories are defined by dividing the atmosphere into four intervals with boundaries at the surface: 700-, 500-, 300-hPa, and TOA. The cloud layers from CRS are put into one of the cloud height categories and averaged over the region. The cloud properties are also column averaged and included on the FSW. CERES is a key Earth Observing System (EOS) program component. The CERES instruments provide radiometric measurements of the Earth's atmosphere from three broadband channels. The CERES missions follow the successful Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) mission. The first CERES instrument, the proto flight model (PFM), was launched on November 27, 1997, as part of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Two CERES instruments (FM1 and FM2) were launched into polar orbit onboard the Earth Observing System (EOS) flagship Terra on December 18, 1999. Two additional CERES instruments (FM3 and FM4) were launched onboard Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua on May 4, 2002. The CERES FM5 instrument was launched onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite on October 28, 2011. The newest CERES instrument (FM6) was launched onboard the Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System 1 (JPSS-1) satellite, now called NOAA-20, on November 18, 2017.

Tags: earth-science-atmospheric-radiation-atmosphere-albedo, earth-science-atmospheric-radiation-atmosphere-outgoing-longwave-radiation, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-microphysics-cloud-optical-depth-thickness, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-base-height, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-base-pressure, earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-pressure
Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration