CLOUDS AND EARTH’S RADIANT ENERGY SYSTEM

1) Objectives of CERES

a) Climate change: provide a continuation of the ERBE record of radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA)

b) Double the accuracy of estimates of radiative fluxes at TOA and the Earth's surface

c) Provide the first long-term global estimates of the radiative fluxes within the Earth's atmosphere

d) Provide cloud property estimates that are consistent with the radiative fluxes from surface to TOA

2) Operating Wavelengths

a) Shortwave: 0.3 – 5 mm (solar reflected radiation)

b) Longwave: 8 – 12 mm (earth-emitted radiation)

c) Total: 0.3 - >100 mm

3) Swath Dimension - Limb to limb.

4) Spatial Resolution - 20 km at nadir

5) Data not readily available without registration to NASA website

a) Data website: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/HBDOCS/langley_web_tool.html

6) Sources

a) http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/ceres/ASDceres.html

b) http://eos-am.gsfc.nasa.gov/ceres.html

c) http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/ceres/terra/results.html