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Instrument details
Acronym
CERES
Full name
Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System
Purpose
Earth radiation budget
Short description
Two broad-band and one total irradiance channels. Capability of bi-axial scanning for irradiance computation [see detailed characteristics below]
Background
Flown in different configurations: one unit used either for cross-nadir or bi-axial scanning on TRMM (instrument early failure), and on JPSS-1; two units for simultaneous cross-nadir and bi-axial scanning on EOS-Terra, EOS-Aqua and Suomi-NPP
Scanning Technique
Two modes: 1) cross-track: 80 steps of 20 km s.s.p., swath 3000 km, along-track: one 20-km line every 3 s; or 2) bi-axial scanning by rotating azimuth while cross-nadir scanning.
Resolution
30 km
Coverage / Cycle
Global coverage twice/day (IR and total radiance) or once/day (short-wave)
Mass
57 kg
Power
50 W
Data Rate
10 kbps
Providing Agency
NASA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period:
1998 to 1998
Last update:
2021-06-02
Detailed characteristics
Channel Spectral interval Noise Equivalent Radiance Absolute accuracy SNR Short-wave
0.3 - 5.0 µm
0.3 W m-2 sr-1
0.8 W m-2 sr-1
225
Total radiance
0.3 - 100 µm
0.3 W m-2 sr-1
0.6 W m-2 sr-1
750
TIR
8 - 12 µm
0.3 W m-2 sr-1
0.3 W m-2 sr-1
750
Satellites this instrument is flying on
Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a
green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates
future satellites
Instrument classification
Earth observation instrument Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer Broadband Earth radiation radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
Subcomponent 1 Broadband radiometer (for ERB)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA Show all Show fewer
Tentative Evaluation of Measurements
The following list indicates which measurements can typically be
retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable,
click on the respective variable.
Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA 1 - primary No specific limitation. SW and Total (SW+LW) broadband channels. Cross-track and bi-axial scanning for BRDF. Supporting narrow-bandwidth channel(s)
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA 2 - very high No specific limitation. SW and Total (SW+LW) broadband channels with supporting narrow-bandwidth channel(s). LW computed as difference Total - SW
Instrument: CERES