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Full catalog/CERES_EBAF
CERES_EBAF·vEdition4.2·dataset

Earth's balance of incoming and outgoing energy (CERES, monthly)

CERES Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) TOA and Surface Monthly means data in netCDF Edition 4.2
atmosphere NASA LARC_CLOUD Level 4 active netCDF-3
In plain English

What it measures. Monthly averages of Earth's energy budget, that is, how much sunlight comes in versus how much energy radiates back out, measured at the top of the atmosphere and estimated at the surface, along with some basic cloud information.

How it's made. Built from the CERES instruments on the Terra, Aqua, and NOAA-20 satellites, with gaps filled and totals adjusted so the global energy balance is physically consistent.

How & where you'd use it. A key reference for understanding climate, how much heat Earth is gaining or losing, and the role clouds play in that balance.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESSATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › SOLAR RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › OUTGOING LONGWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › RADIATIVE FLUXATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FRACTIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › RADIATIVE FORCINGATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › INCOMING SOLAR RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › SOLAR IRRADIANCEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › NET RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › LONGWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › SHORTWAVE RADIATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-03-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (CERES-FM1, CERES-FM2) · Aqua (CERES-FM3, CERES-FM4) · NOAA-20 (CERES-FM6)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • FormatsnetCDF-3
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

CERES_EBAF_Edition4.2 is the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) and surface monthly means data in netCDF format Edition 4.2 data product. Data was collected using the CERES Scanner instruments on the Terra, Aqua, and NOAA-20 platforms for various periods. Data collection for this product is ongoing. CERES_EBAF_Edition4.2 data are monthly and climatological averages of TOA clear-sky (spatially complete) fluxes and all-sky fluxes, where the TOA net flux is constrained to the ocean heat storage. It also provides computed monthly mean surface radiative fluxes consistent with the CERES EBAF-TOA product and some basic cloud properties derived from colocated imagers. Cloud Radiative Effects are provided at both the TOA and surface as determined using a cloud-free profile in the Fu-Liou Radiative Transfer Model (RTM). Observed fluxes are obtained using cloud properties derived from narrow-band imagers onboard both EOS Terra and Aqua satellites and NOAA-20, as well as geostationary satellites, to fully model the diurnal cycle of clouds. The computations are also based on meteorological assimilation data from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Versions 5.4.1 models. Unlike other CERES Level 3 clear-sky regional data sets that contain clear-sky data gaps, the clear-sky fluxes in the EBAF-TOA product are regionally complete. The EBAF-TOA product is the CERES project's best estimate of the fluxes based on all available satellite platforms and input data. 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 missions follow the successful Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) mission. The first CERES instrument, the protoflight model (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 Earth Observing System (EOS) flagship Terra on December 18, 1999. Two additional CERES instruments (FM3 and FM4) were launched on board Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua on May 4, 2002. The CERES FM5 instrument was launched on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite on October 28, 2011. The newest CERES instrument (FM6) was launched on board the Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System 1 (JPSS-1) satellite, now called NOAA-20, on November 18, 2017.

Get the data

ceres_ebaf_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CERES_EBAF",
    version="Edition4.2",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LARC_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.