ASDC | CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS

CERES Level 2

Entry Title: CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) TOA/Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols TRMM-PFM Edition2B

Entry ID: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B

Clouds Radiation Budget

Description

CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B is the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Scanner Footprint (SSF) Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA)/Surface Fluxes, Clouds, and Aerosols Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-protoflight model (PFM) Edition2B data product. Data was collected using the CERES PFM instrument on both the TRMM platform. Data collection for this product is complete.

CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B contains one hour of instantaneous CERES data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM, MODIS on Terra and Aqua, and VIIRS on Suomi-NPP. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager-defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. On the SSF, only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included, which are much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product.

CERES is a key component of the Earth Observing System (EOS) program. The CERES instruments provide radiometric measurements of the Earth's atmosphere from three broadband channels. The CERES missions are a follow-on to the successful Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) mission. The first CERES instrument, PFM, was launched on November 27, 1997 as part of the 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.

DOI

10.5067/TRMM/CERES/SSF-PFM_L2.002B

View Citations

VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

NASA EOS ATB Documents: CERES

ANOMALIES

Discussion of the Coastal Water Percentage Issue

DATA CITATION POLICY

How to cite ASDC data

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

HOW-TO

Directions on downloading and installing the HDF libraries

MICRO ARTICLE

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Clouds in the Balance

PI DOCUMENTATION

PROCESSING HISTORY

CERES Processing Level Details
CERES Product Level Details

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Quality Summary: CERES CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B

PRODUCTION HISTORY

PUBLICATIONS

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Aqua CERES First Light: Image of the Day - The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument is one of six on board the Aqua satellite.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: CERES Detects Earth's Heat and Energy: Image of the Day - Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) monitors solar energy reflected from the Earth and heat energy emitted from the Earth.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: CERES First Light Images: Image of the Day - These two Terra instruments join a previous CERES scanner on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) which was launched on November 27, 1997

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Does the Earth Have an Iris Analog - Sensors on the TRMM and Terra satellite missions routinely measure these cloud physical properties, which scientists will match in time and space with CERES.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: First Monthly CERES Global Longwave and Shortwave Radiation - These measurements were acquired by NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensors during March 2000.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Space-based Observations of the Earth (Thermal radiation emitted from the Earth's surface and clouds on March 1, 2000 as seen by the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES))

NASA Earth Observatory Article: The Arctic Is Absorbing More Sunlight - The radiation measurements were made by NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments which fly on multiple satellites.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: The Water Cycle - MODIS, CERES, and AIRS all collect data relevant to the study of clouds.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Tropical Cloud Systems and CERES: Image of the Day - CERES detects the amount of outgoing heat and reflected sunlight leaving the planet.

NASA Earth Observeratory Article: A Delicate Balance: Signs of Change in the Tropics - New data sets were also used from NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments that fly aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring...

READ-ME

REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN

CERES Input Data Sources

USER'S GUIDE

From GCMD Science Keywords:

CLOUD LIQUID WATER/ICE > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
EMISSIVITY
SKIN TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE
CLOUD BASE PRESSURE > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD HEIGHT > CLOUD PROPERTIES
SHORTWAVE RADIATION
OUTGOING LONGWAVE RADIATION
SURFACE PRESSURE
RADIATIVE FLUX
LONGWAVE RADIATION
NET RADIATION
CLOUD TOP PRESSURE > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD EMISSIVITY > CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER
TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS
WIND SPEED > SURFACE WINDS
CLOUD FRACTION > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZE > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
ALBEDO
CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS

Cloud Base Pressure
Cloud Infrared Emissivity
Cloud Layer Area
Cloud Overlap
Cloud Particle Phase
Ice Particle Diameter
Ice Water Path
Liquid Water Path
Longwave (LW) Flux
Longwave (LW) Unfiltered Radiance
Shortwave (SW) Flux
Shortwave (SW) Unfiltered Radiance
Surface (Radiative) Flux
Surface Type
TOA (Top of Atmosphere) Flux
Vertical Aspect Ratio
Visible Optical Depth
Water Particle Radius
Window (Wn) Flux
Window (Wn) Unfiltered Radiance

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

HDF4

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (-90, 90), (-180, 180)
Spatial Coverage Type: Not provided
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

GLOBAL

Temporal Information

Temporal Coverage: 1998-01-01 - 2000-03-31
Temporal Resolution: Hourly

Platforms

Earth Observation Satellites

TRMM

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

CERES-PFM

Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System - Prototype Flight Model

Radiometer

Metadata Dates

Created on 2014-02-21

Last updated on 2021-01-05