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| Cloud and Earth Radiant Energy System | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cloud and Earth Radiant Energy System |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
| Manufacturer | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ball Aerospace |
| Launch vehicle | Delta II |
| Launch site | Vandenberg Space Force Base |
| Orbit | Low Earth orbit |
Cloud and Earth Radiant Energy System is a NASA scientific instrument suite designed to measure the Earth's radiative energy budget by observing reflected solar and emitted terrestrial radiation. It provides continuous radiometric observations to improve understanding of climate forcing, cloud feedbacks, and surface energy exchanges. The project interfaces with satellite missions, climate modeling centers, and observational campaigns to supply calibrated radiance datasets used across atmospheric and cryospheric sciences.
CERES instruments quantify top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation and reflected shortwave radiation to determine net radiative fluxes, supporting assessments of planetary energy imbalance, aerosol forcing, and cloud radiative effects. The project integrates with missions and programs such as Terra (satellite), Aqua (satellite), Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, Landsat, and NOAA-20 to provide cross-mission continuity. Data products feed into international efforts at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Climate Research Programme, Global Climate Observing System, and regional climate centers like European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and NOAA. CERES outputs are used alongside datasets from MODIS, CALIPSO, CloudSat, and ACE.
CERES originated from conceptual work in the 1980s within NASA and collaborations with institutions including University of Colorado Boulder, Langley Research Center, and Goddard Space Flight Center. The first CERES instruments launched aboard Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission follow-ons and later on Terra (satellite) and Aqua (satellite). Program milestones involved partnerships with industry contractors like TRW and Raytheon, and academic consortia at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, and University of Washington. CERES development was informed by earlier programs and reports from National Research Council (United States), World Meteorological Organization, and climate assessments by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Subsequent instrument series and algorithm upgrades responded to findings from missions such as ERBE and recommendations from panels convened at American Meteorological Society meetings and AGU Fall Meeting sessions.
Each CERES instrument combines thermistor-based detectors, narrow-to-broadband conversion algorithms, and scene identification from imagers to derive broadband fluxes. Instruments were integrated on platforms including Terra (satellite), Aqua (satellite), and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and were coordinated with imagers like MODIS and spectrometers flown on Aqua (satellite). The instrument suite includes broadband shortwave, longwave, and total channels with on-board calibration systems developed by teams at NASA Langley Research Center and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Flight operations are managed in coordination with mission control centers at Goddard Space Flight Center and data centers such as NASA Distributed Active Archive Center partners.
CERES produces hierarchical data products from Level 1 radiances to Level 4 fluxes and climatologies used by modeling centers. Processing chains incorporate angular distribution models, scene identification from MODIS, cloud retrievals influenced by CALIPSO and CloudSat, and geolocation services used in reanalysis centers like ERA5 at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and MERRA-2 at NASA Goddard. Data are archived at NASA data centers and distributed to research groups at institutions such as NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Products support intercomparisons with datasets from CERES SYN1deg, CERES EBAF, and satellite calibration efforts tied to standards from National Institute of Standards and Technology.
CERES datasets underpin studies of global energy budget closure, climate sensitivity estimates used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and attribution of radiative forcing from aerosol sources such as biomass burning and industrial emissions monitored by MODIS and OMI. Applications include evaluation of cloud feedbacks in climate models developed at NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NCAR, Hadley Centre, and Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace. CERES data inform sea ice and cryosphere research at National Snow and Ice Data Center, land surface energy studies linked to Landsat products, and analyses of extreme events cataloged by IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events. Multi-mission synthesis with Sentinel platforms supports regional climate assessments by entities like European Space Agency and Copernicus.
Operational maintenance includes onboard calibrators, vicarious calibration campaigns coordinated with ground sites at Mauna Loa Observatory, Barrow (Alaska), and facilities operated by NOAA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Calibration traceability references international metrology standards from National Institute of Standards and Technology and intercomparisons during field campaigns such as ARM Climate Research Facility deployments. Routine cross-calibration leverages contemporaneous measurements from MODIS, VIIRS on Suomi NPP, and reference radiometers maintained by NASA Langley and NASA Goddard teams. Operations scheduling aligns with mission planners at Goddard Space Flight Center and data dissemination through NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System nodes.
CERES faces limitations in angular sampling, spatial resolution relative to narrow-swath sensors like Landsat, and challenges in scene identification over heterogeneous surfaces noted in assessments by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Critics cite uncertainties in inferring surface fluxes under multi-layer cloud conditions and aerosol-cloud interactions, which affect climate model evaluation at centers such as NCAR and Met Office Hadley Centre. Ongoing improvements respond to recommendations from panels convened by NASA and reviews at American Geophysical Union conferences to reduce systematic biases and increase inter-mission consistency.
Category:NASA satellites Category:Earth observation satellites