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CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) TOA/Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols NPP-FM5 Edition2A

Published by NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Metadata Last Checked: February 21, 2026 | Last Modified: 2026-02-17
CER_SSF_NPP-FM5_Edition2A data have CERES observed TOA fluxes, MODIS clouds and aerosols, and parameterized surface fluxes. The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as a Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM, Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua, or Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on S-NPP and NOAA-20. 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 the number of cloud layers and, for each layer, the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES-filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager-defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1, the SSF, which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. 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 (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. The CERES instrument (FM5) 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 on November 18, 2017.

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Complete Metadata
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description CER_SSF_NPP-FM5_Edition2A data have CERES observed TOA fluxes, MODIS clouds and aerosols, and parameterized surface fluxes. The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as a Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM, Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua, or Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on S-NPP and NOAA-20. 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 the number of cloud layers and, for each layer, the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES-filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager-defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1, the SSF, which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. 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 (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. The CERES instrument (FM5) 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 on November 18, 2017.
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identifier 10.5067/NPP/CERES/SSF_NPP-FM5_L2.002A
keyword 
                                            [
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere-aerosol-optical-depth-thickness",
  "earth-science-atmospheric-radiation-atmosphere-outgoing-longwave-radiation",
  "earth-science-atmospheric-radiation-atmosphere-radiative-flux",
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  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-fraction",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-height",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-pressure",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties-cloud-top-temperature",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-radiative-transfer-cloud-emissivity",
  "earth-science-infrared-wavelengths-spectral-engineering",
  "earth-science-lidar-spectral-engineering-lidar-backscatter",
  "earth-science-lidar-spectral-engineering-lidar-depolarization-ratio",
  "earth-science-surface-radiative-properties-land-surface"
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landingPage https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/
modified 2026-02-17
programCode 
                                            [
  "026:000"
]
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
spatial 
                                            "["CARTESIAN",[{"Boundary":{"Points":[{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":-180},{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":180},{"Latitude":90,"Longitude":180},{"Latitude":90,"Longitude":-180},{"Latitude":-90,"Longitude":-180}]}}]]"
temporal 2012-01-27/2012-01-27
theme 
                                            [
  "Earth Science"
]
title CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) TOA/Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols NPP-FM5 Edition2A

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