CERES and ERBE SW diurnal averaging comparison (1)

• Example Peruvian maritime stratus region, morning stratus clouds that burn off in the afternoon
• One would assume a greater albedo in the morning than in the afternoon

• Terra SSF1deg (ERBE interpolation) product overestimates the daily SW flux
• Aqua SSF1deg (ERBE interpolation) product underestimates the daily SW flux
• Terra SYN1deg (CERES interpolation) estimate is closer to the truth

CERES and ERBE SW diurnal averaging comparison (2)

• Difference the time interpolated SW fluxes based on Terra (10:30 equator local crossing time) and Aqua (1:30PM) of December 2002

• Terra-only fluxes > Aqua-only fluxes over marine stratus regions (morning clouds)
• Aqua-only fluxes > Terra-only fluxes over land afternoon convection regions
• The SYN1deg have removed the Terra- Aqua sampling bias of the diurnal cycle

CERES and ERBE SW diurnal averaging comparison (1)

• Difference of the monthly regional means of CERES (SYN1deg) and ERBE (SSF1deg) temporal SW averaging for Terra (10:30 AM sun-synchronous) December 2002

• Terra-SYN1deg monthly means overestimate the SW flux over maritime stratus and underestimate the afternoon convection regions
• Regional monthly differences can be > 20 Wm^-2
• Global bias is - 1.0 Wm^-2

CERES and ERBE LW diurnal averaging comparison (1)

• CERES-only (ERBE) LW land temporal interpolation uses a half-sine and constant nighttime fit if the daytime LW flux is greater than the nighttime flux, to fill in 24 hourly time steps during the day
• CERES-only (ERBE) LW ocean and snow temporal interpolation uses linear interpolation, to fill in 24 hourly time steps during the day. It is assumed that there are no LW diurnal cycles over clear-sky ocean and snow surfaces
• CERES/GEO LW temporal interpolation uses all CERES and 8 3-hourly (GMT) GEO derived BB fluxes normalized at coincident CERES/GEO measurements to maintain CERES instrument calibration. All remaining hourly time steps are linearly interpolated between measurement times. For nonpolar regions there are usually 2 CERES and 8 GEO measurements, almost half the hourly time steps

• For ERBE LW interpolation the land LW half-sin fit models the daytime heating, which assumes symmetry about noon.
• For ERBE LW interpolation, for a given daytime measurement, both a previous and following nighttime observation must be present to apply half-sine fit. If the conditions are not met linear interpolation between measurements are used, causing erroneous flux estimates.
• It seems that the ERBE LW interpolation half-sine fit does not capture the daytime heating lag and nighttime cooling over land.

CERES and ERBE LW diurnal averaging comparison (2)

• Example Peruvian maritime stratus region, morning stratus clouds that burn off in the afternoon
• One would assume a greater albedo in the morning than in the afternoon

• ERBE LW interpolation would show symmetry about noon or no difference between 16:30 and 7:30 local time as the CERES interpolation does.
• The land afternoon convection regions (blue, for example Brazil), which are colder in the afternoon than morning and daytime heating thermal lag regions (red, for example Sahara) indicating land is warmer near sunset rather than sunrise.
• Also the Peruvian maritime stratus regions are warmer in the afternoon indicating the clear-sky ocean is warmer than the morning cloud tops
• PM-AM differences can be ~ 30 Wm^-2

CERES and ERBE LW diurnal averaging comparison (3)

• Terra-ERBE temporally interpolated means are similar to the CERES temporal averaging because the daytime and nighttime LW biases cancel out
• Global bias is +0.5 Wm^-2
• CERES LW interpolation averaging reveals 3-hourly or 45° longitude striping due to discretization of the 3-hourly GEO measurements

Radiance view θ, solar θ₀, and relative azimuth Φ angle definition

CERES vs ERBE view angle ADM comparison

Loeb, N.G., S. Kato, K. Louckachine, N. Manalo-Smith, D.R. Doelling; 2007: Angular Distribution Models for Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Flux Estimation from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Instrument on the Terra Satellite Part II: Validation; J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 24, 564-584 Loeb et al.

• Ideally there would be a constant flux with respect to view angle
• Note the CERES ADM has almost removed the functionality with view angle, whereas ERBE-like is biased with view angle
• ERBE ADMs insufficiently limb-darken in the LW and insufficiently limb-brighten in SW.

CERES vs ERBE Clear-sky Scene Identification Comparison

• Note the cloud contamination in the ERBE-like clear-sky albedo product
• ERBElike scene identification uses 12 scene types to identify clear-sky footprints, whereas CERES uses ~600 scene types

Edition3 vs Edition2 Product Comparison Table

*Day/Nit contains only the cloud properties whereas FlxDay/FlxNit contains both fluxes and cloud properties.

File Names Tables

Edition and netCDF Products / Lite Products

Edition2, Edition3, & netCDF File names

** Last update April 2010

Lite Level3&4 Edition2.6 Product Filenames

** Last update April 2010

The CERES product edition naming convention is a function of input and algorithm differences. Consistent input and algorithms are necessary to avoid algorithm shock to the output parameters in order to retain a consistent climate quality record. All CERES products listed within a column are processing edition consistent. For example Terra SRBAVG Edition2D product input is the Terra SFC Edition2C product, which is the gridded average of SSF Edition2B. Also note that with the change in MODIS collection from 4 to 5 in May 2006 resulted in incrementing the Terra Edition2 from B to F in the SSF product and all downstream CERES products.
The user should always use the latest Edition letter that is available.

Terra / Aqua

Terra Input and Product Editions

Aqua Input and Product Editions

Title: Constrained least-squares image restoration filters for sampled image data

Publication: Proc. SPIE, Vol. 2028, 177 (1993); doi:10.1117/12.158634

Authors: Hazra, R., S. Park, G. L. Smith, and S. E. Reichenbach

Title: Documentation and validation of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Data Assimilation System - Version 4. NASA Technical Report Series on Global Modeling and Data Assimilation

Publication: M. Journal of Suarez, Editor, NASA/TM-2005-104606, 26 pp., 2005

Authors: Bloom, S., A. da Silva, and D. Dee

Title: Simulating aerosols using a chemical transport model with assimilation of satellite aerosol retrievals, Methodology for INDOEX.

Publication: Journal of Geophys. Res., 106, 7313-7336., 2001

Authors: Collins, W. D., P. J. Rasch, B. E. Eaton, B. V. Khattatov, J.-F. Lamarque, and C. S. Zender

Title: Seasonal variation of surface radiation budget derived from ISCCP-C1 data.

Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 97, 15 741-15 760., 1992

Authors: Darnell, W. L., W. F. Staylor, S. K. Gupta, N. A. Ritchey, and A. C. Wilber

Title: A Parameterization for Longwave Surface Radiation from Satellite Data: Recent Improvements.

Publication: Journal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 31, No. 12, 1992, pp. 1361-1367.

Authors: Gupta, S. K., Darnell, W. L., and Wilber, A. C.

Title: The Langley Parameterized Shortwave Algorithm (LPSA) for surface radiation budget studies (Version1.0).

Publication: NASA/TP-2001-211272, 31 pp., 2001

Authors: Gupta, S. K., D. P. Kratz, P. W. Stackhouse Jr., and A. C. Wilber

Title: Improvement of Surface Longwave Flux Algorithms Used in CERES Processing.

Publication: Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Vol. 49, No. 7, 2010, pp. 1,579 - 1,589.

Authors: S. K. Gupta, D. P. Kratz, P. W. Stackhouse, Jr., A. C. Wilber, T. Zhang, and V. E. Sothcott

Title: Earth's energy imbalance: Confirmation and implications.

Publication: Science, 308, 1431-1435., 2005

Authors: Hansen, J., and co-authors

Title: Aerosol Retrievals from the Multiyear Multisatellite AVHRR Pathfinder Atmosphere (PATMOS) Dataset for Correcting Remotely Sensed Sea Surface Temperatures.

Publication: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 19, 1986-2008., 2002

Authors: Ignatov, A., and N. R. Nalli

Title: Two MODIS Aerosol Products over Ocean on the Terra and Aqua CERES SSF Datasets.

Publication: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 62, 1008-1031, 2005

Authors: Ignatov, A., P. Minnis, N.G. Loeb, B.A. Wielicki, W.F. Miller, S. Sun-Mack, D. Tanré, L. Remer, I. Laszlo, and E. Geier

Title: Estimation of Longwave Surface Radiation Budget.

Publication: Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document, CERES (Subsystem 4.6.2), Release 2.2. June 2, 1997

Authors: Inamdar, A. K. and Ramanathan, V.

Title: Total Irradiance Monitor Design and On-Orbit Functionality.

Publication: SPIE Proc. 5171-4, 2003, pp. 14-25.

Authors: Kopp, G., Lawrence, G., and Rottman, G.

Title: The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM): Science Results.

Publication: Solar Physics, 230, 129-140., 2005

Authors: Kopp, G., G. Lawrence, and G. Rottman

Title: Validation of the CERES Edition 2B Surface-Only Flux Algorithms.

Publication: Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, DOI: 10.1175/2009JAMC2246.1, 2009

Authors: Kratz, D.P., S. K. Gupta, A. C. Wilber, V. E. Sothcott

Title: Estimation of SW Flux Absorbed at the Surface from TOA Reflected Flux.

Publication: Journal of Climate, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1993, pp. 317-330.

Authors: Li, Z., Leighton, H. G., Masuda, K., and Takashima, T.

Title: Determination of unfiltered radiances from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument.

Publication: Journal of Appl. Meteor, 40, 822-835, 2001

Authors: Loeb, N.G., K.J. Priestley, D.P. Kratz, E.B. Geier, R.N. Green, B.A. Wielicki, P. O'R. Hinton, and S.K. Nolan

Title: Angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument on the Terra satellite. Part I: Methodology.

Publication: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 22, 338-351., 2005

Authors: Loeb, N. G., S. Kato, K. Loukachine, and N. Manalo-Smith

Title: Angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument on the Terra satellite. Part II: Validation.

Publication: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 24, 564-584., 2007

Authors: Loeb, N. G., S. Kato, K. Loukachine, N. Manalo-Smith, and D. R. Doelling

Title: CERES Edition-2 Cloud property retrievals using TRMM VIRS and Terra and Aqua MODIS data, Part I: Algorithms.

Publication: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2009

Authors: Minnis, P., S.Sun-Mack, D.F. Young, P.W. Heck, D.P. Garber, Y.C. Chen, D.A. Spangenberg, R.F. Arduini, Q.Z. Trepte, W. L. Smith Jr., J.K. Ayers, S.C.Gibson, W.F. Miller, V. Chakrapani, Y. Takano, K.N. Liou, Y. Xie

Title: Updated daily. Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent, [1998-present].

Publication: Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. 1998

Authors: Nolin, A., R. L. Armstrong, and J. Maslanik

Title: Algorithm for Remote Sensing of Tropospheric Aerosol from MODIS for Collection 005: Revision 2 Products: 04_L2, ATML2, 08_D3, 08_E3, 08_M3.

Publication:

Authors: Remer, Tanré, Kaufman, Levy, & Mattoo

Title: Angular Radiation Models for Earth-Atmosphere System: Volume I - Shortwave Radiation.

Publication: NASA RP 1184, 144 pp., July 1988.

Authors: Suttles, J. T., Green, R. N., Minnis, P., Smith, G. L., Staylor, W. F., Wielicki, B. A., Walker, I. J., Young, D. F., Taylor, V. R., and Stowe, L. L.

Title: Angular Radiation Models for Earth-Atmosphere System: Volume II - Longwave Radiation.

Publication: NASA RP 1184, 144 pp., July 1989.

Authors: Suttles, J. T., Green, R. N., Minnis, P., Smith, G. L., Staylor, W. F., Wielicki, B. A., Walker, I. J., Young, D. F., Taylor, V. R., and Stowe, L. L.

Title: Temporal Interpolation Methods for the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Experiment.

Publication: Journal of Applied Meteorology, 37, pp. 572-590, 1998.

Authors: Young, D. F., P. Minnis. D. R. Doelling, G. G. Gibson, and T. Wong

Title: SMOBA: A 3-dimensional daily ozone analysis using SBUV and TOVS measurements, 1997.

Publication:

Authors: Yang, S. K., S. Zhou, and A. J. Miller

Title: SMOBA: A 3-dimensional daily ozone analysis using SBUV/2 and TOVS measurements, 2000.

Publication: Climate Prediction Center Abstract

Authors: Yang, S. K., S. Zhou, and A. J. Miller

Title: Algorithm-development strategies for retrieving the downwelling longwave flux at the Earth's surface.

Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 106, pp. 12477-12488, 2001

Authors: Zhou Y. and R. D. Cess

Title: An improved algorithm for retrieving surface downwelling longwave radiation from satellite measurements.

Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 112, D15102, doi:10.1029/2006JD008159, 2007

Authors: Zhou Y., D. P. Kratz, A. C. Wilber, S. K. Gupta, and R. D. Cess