CERES on NPP

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CERES is a key component of Earth Observing System (EOS) and NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) . The first CERES instrument (PFM) flew on TRMM, four instruments are currently operating on the EOS Terra (FM1 and FM2) and Aqua (FM3 and FM4) platforms, and FM5 was launched on the NPP platform on October 28, 2011. CERES measures radiances in three broadband channels: a shortwave channel (0.3 — 5 µm), a total channel (0.3 — 200 µm), and an infrared window channel (8 — 12 µm). The last data processed from the PFM instrument aboard TRMM was March 2000; no additional data are expected. Until June 2005, one instrument on each EOS platform operated in a fixed azimuth scanning mode and the other operated in a rotating azimuth scanning mode; now all are typically operating in the fixed azimuth scanning mode. The NPP platform carries the FM5 instrument, which operates in the fixed azimuth scanning mode though it can operate in a rotating azimuth scanning mode.

CERES climate data records involve an unprecedented level of data fusion: CERES measurements are combined with imager data (e.g., MODIS on Terra and Aqua, VIIRS on NPP), 4-D weather assimilation data, microwave sea-ice observations, and measurements from five geostationary satellites to produce climate-quality radiative fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere, within the atmosphere and at the surface, together with the associated cloud and aerosol properties.

CERES is a Principal Investigator instrument provided by NASA and managed by NASA's Langley Reseearch Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia. The instrument was built by TRW in Redondo Beach, California. The CERES Team Leader is Norman Loeb. More information may be obtained on the CERES Home Page.