Fast Longwave And SHortwave Fluxes (FLASHflux) Clouds and Radiative Swath (SSF) data in netCDF

The result is that CERES data are typically released up to six months after acquiring the initial measurements. Such delays are of little consequence for climate studies, especially considering the improved quality of the released data products. Thus, FLASHFlux products are not intended to achieve climate quality.

FLASHFlux data products were envisioned as a resource whereby CERES data could be provided to the community within a week of the initial measurements, with some calibration accuracy requirements relaxed to gain speed. The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Fast Longwave And SHortwave Fluxes (FLASHFlux) data for a single Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) scanner instrument.

The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite and meteorological and ozone information from The Goddard Earth Observing System GEOS-5 FP-IT Atmospheric Data Assimilation System (GEOS-5 ADAS). Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution, and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint.

For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains Top-of-Atmosphere fluxes in SW, LW, and incoming NET, surface fluxes using the Langley parameterized shortwave and longwave algorithms, and cloud information. CERES is a key Earth Observing System (EOS) program component. The CERES instruments provide radiometric measurements of the Earth's atmosphere from three broadband channels.

The CERES mission is a follow-up to the successful Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) mission. The first CERES instrument (PFM) was launched on November 27, 1997, as part of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Two CERES instruments (FM1 and FM2) were launched into polar orbit on board the EOS flagship Terra on December 18, 1999.

Two additional CERES instruments (FM3 and FM4) were launched on board EOS Aqua on May 4, 2002. CERES instrument Flight Model 5 (FM5) was launched on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite on October 28, 2011. The latest CERES instrument (FM6) was launched on board NOAA-20 on November 18, 2017.