CERES Regionally Averaged Computed TOA, within the Atmosphere, and Surface Fluxes Hourly Aqua Edition4A

CER_CRS1deg-Hour_Aqua-MODIS_Edition4A is the Aqua Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Level 3 computed flux Edition4A data product. The Cloud and Radiative Swath One Degree (CRS1deg) Hour provides data hourly on a 1-degree latitude and longitude global grid from the Aqua CERES Flight Model 3 (FM3) or FM4 CER_CRS_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Edition4A instantaneous footprint data. The data provides instantaneous averages of computed top of atmosphere (ToA) (0.01-hPa), within the atmosphere (850-, 500-, 200-, and 70-hPa), and surface fluxes (Wm-2). Four assumptions are used in the Fu-Liou radiative transfer model (RTM): Total-sky, clear-sky (no clouds, but aerosol), pristine (no clouds or aerosols), and total-sky, no aerosol as described in Scott 2022. Variables from these footprints are then assigned to a grid box and linearly averaged.

The data has been processed from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022, and is available in daily netCDF4 files. This single satellite product uses the primary CERES instrument in cross-track mode. The CERES instruments provide radiometric measurements of the Earth's atmosphere from three broadband channels: total, shortwave, and window. Longwave fluxes are obtained by subtracting shortwave from the total.

A few variables from the SSF have been included in this product, such as observed CERES shortwave and longwave ToA fluxes and cloud fraction. MODIS measurements are not directly used in this dataset. The MODIS data is used during SSF processing to obtain cloud properties. These cloud properties are then used to compute the CRS fluxes. Still, this product should be used in conjunction with the CER_SSF1deg-Hour_Aqua-MODIS_Edition4A product, which has additional cloud and aerosol properties. The CER_SYN1deg-1Hour_Terra-Aqua-MODIS_Edition4A is another related product that averages the cloud properties to the one-degree grid before performing the Fu-Liou RTM calculations. The SYN1deg-1Hour product also brings in cloud properties derived from geostationary imagers between 60 N and 60 S to provide information to provide a complete diurnal cycle.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Maintainer	Earthdata Forum
Last Updated	June 22, 2026, 21:07 (UTC)
Created	April 1, 2025, 15:09 (UTC)
accessLevel	public
bureauCode	{026:00}
catalog_conformsTo	https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id	2bf20e43-9959-484a-8677-eac366ff99a7
harvest_source_id	b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title	Science Discovery Engine
identifier	10.5067/AQUA/CERES/CRS1DEGHOUR_L3.004A
license	https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified	2026-06-15T22:15:59Z
programCode	{026:000}
publisher	NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
resource-type	Dataset
source_datajson_identifier	true
source_hash	baf61f204117ed1b8ea135c8a997b5114f34294aabca0452d554f9271f313c32
source_schema_version	1.1
spatial	["CARTESIAN", [{"Boundary": {"Points": [{"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}]}}]], Atmosphere Layer, Atmosphere Layer, Atmosphere Layer, Atmosphere Layer, Atmosphere Layer, Atmosphere Layer, 30 km, 70 hpa, 200 hpa, 500 hpa, 850 hpa, 0 km
temporal	2018-01-01/2022-12-31
theme	{"Earth Science"}