CER_SSF1deg-Month_NPP-VIIRS_Edition2B is the Suomi NPP Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Level 3 Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) Edition2B Top of Atmosphere (ToA) flux data product. The SSF One Degree (SSF1deg) Month provides monthly averages on a 1-degree latitude and longitude global grid from the Suomi NPP CERES Flight Model 5 (FM5) data. The CERES-FM5 instrument was launched aboard the Suomi NPP satellite on October 28, 2011. The data product begins October 1, 2023. Data collection for this product is in progress.
The product is distributed in monthly Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) 4 files. The file contains the monthly mean and provides global coverage. The SSF1deg-Month granule contains the monthly averages of regional CERES-FM5 Earth viewing Top of Atmosphere (ToA) shortwave and longwave fluxes. The fluxes are converted from the unfiltered CERES radiances at the footprint level using the co-located Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) imager-defined scene. The footprint fluxes are gridded at hourly periods and then temporally interpolated assuming constant meteorology between measurements. The ToA fluxes are provided for both clear-sky and total sky conditions. The incoming daily solar irradiance is from the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) and Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). The VIIRS radiances are used with CERES-specific cloud mask and cloud property retrievals and are stratified into four atmospheric layers: surface to 700 mb, 700 mb to 500 mb, 500 to 300 mb, and above 300 mb along with the total. Each cloud layer has properties such as amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, phase, water path, and water particle size. The cloud properties are averaged for day and night (24-hour) and day-only periods. This product uses the instantaneous gridded product, CER_SSF1deg-Hour_NPP-VIIRS_Edition2B, as input.