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    • CERES and GEO-Enhanced TOA, Within-Atmosphere and Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols Monthly-Averaged 1-Hourly Terra-Aqua Edition4A

    Metadata Updated: October 23, 2025

    CER_SYN1deg-MHour_Terra-Aqua-MODIS_Edition4A is the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and geostationary (GEO)-Enhanced Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA), Within-Atmosphere and Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols Monthly-Averaged 1-Hourly Terra-Aqua Edition4A data product. Data was collected using the CERES Imaging Radiometers on Geostationary Satellites; CERES Flight Model 1 (FM1), FM2, CERES Scanner, and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra; and FM3, FM4 CERES Scanner, and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua. Data collection for this product is ongoing. The CERES Synoptic (SYN) 1 degree (SYN1deg) products provide CERES-observed temporally interpolated TOA radiative fluxes and coincident MODIS-derived cloud and aerosol properties and include geostationary-derived cloud properties and broadband fluxes that have been carefully normalized with CERES fluxes to maintain the CERES calibration. They also contain computed initial TOA, in-atmosphere, surface fluxes, and computed fluxes adjusted or constrained to the CERES-observed TOA fluxes. The computed fluxes are produced using the Langley Fu-Liou radiative transfer model. Computations use MODIS, geostationary satellite cloud properties, and atmospheric profiles provided by the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The adjustments to clouds and atmospheric properties are also provided. The computations are for all-sky, clear-sky, pristine (clear-sky without aerosols), and all-sky without aerosol conditions. This product offers parameters on a monthly-averaged one-hourly temporal resolution and 1°-regional spatial scales. Fluxes are provided for clear-sky and all-sky conditions in the longwave (LW), shortwave (SW), and window (WN) regions.The CERES SYN1deg products use 1-hourly radiances and cloud property data from geostationary (GEO) imagers to model variability between CERES observations accurately. Several steps are involved in using GEO data to enhance diurnal sampling. First, GEO radiances are cross-calibrated with the MODIS imager using only data that is coincident in time and ray-matched in angle. Next, the GEO cloud retrievals are inferred from the calibrated GEO radiances. The GEO radiances are converted from narrowband to broadband using empirical regressions and then to broadband GEO TOA fluxes using Angular Distribution Models (ADMs) and directional models. A normalization technique ensures GEO and CERES TOA fluxes are consistent. Instantaneous matched gridded fluxes from CERES and GEO are regressed against one another over a month from 5°x5 ° latitude-longitude regions. The regression relation is then applied to all GEO fluxes to remove biases that depend upon cloud amount, solar and view zenith angles, and regional dependencies. The regional means are determined for 1° equal-angle grid boxes calculated by first interpolating each parameter for any missing times of the CERES/GEO observations to produce a complete 1-hourly time series for the month. Monthly means are calculated using the combination of observed and interpolated parameters from all days containing at least one CERES observation.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 protoflight 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 on board the Earth Observing System (EOS) flagship Terra on December 18, 1999. Two additional CERES instruments (FM3 and FM4) were launched on board Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua on May 4, 2002. The CERES FM5 instrument was launched on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite on October 28, 2011. The newest CERES instrument (FM6) was launched on board the Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System 1 (JPSS-1) satellite, now called NOAA-20, on November 18, 2017.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date October 23, 2025

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date October 23, 2025
    Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
    Maintainer
    Identifier 10.5067/Terra+Aqua/CERES/SYN1deg-MHour_L3.004A
    Data Last Modified 2025-09-10
    Category Earth Science
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id c8e75164-a5d4-4d55-b664-849d0d1dfc21
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    Homepage URL https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/
    Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"Boundary":{"Points":{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":-180},{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":180},{"Latitude":90,"Longitude":180},{"Latitude":90,"Longitude":-180},{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":-180}}}
    Program Code 026:000
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 82948b0bb20ddcc212cd491c4014a5206a61254e894e696d29d6671339966702
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 2002-07-01/2002-07-01

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