Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) Edition-4.0 Data Product

TLDR

The paper describes the CERES EBAF Edition‑4.0 top‑of‑atmosphere data product. EBAF Ed4.0 updates Ed2.8 by incorporating algorithm improvements and consistent input datasets, and applies a one‑time adjustment to shortwave and longwave TOA fluxes to match the July 2005–June 2015 in‑situ net TOA flux of 0.71 W m⁻². Compared to Ed2.8, Ed4.0 shows global mean all‑sky TOA flux differences within 0.5 W m⁻² but notable regional shortwave differences over marine stratocumulus, snow/ice, polar, and dust areas, higher clear‑sky longwave fluxes over persistent high‑cloud regions, a net cloud radiative effect of –18 W m⁻² versus –21 W m⁻², and estimated 1°×1° monthly uncertainties of 3 W m⁻² (Terra‑only) and 2.5 W m⁻² (Terra–Aqua) for all‑sky, with SW clear‑sky uncertainties of 6 W m⁻² (Terra‑only) and 5 W m⁻² (Terra–Aqua) and LW clear‑sky uncertainties of 5 W m⁻² (Terra‑only) and 4.5 W m⁻² (Terra–Aqua).

Abstract

The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) top-of-atmosphere (TOA), Edition 4.0 (Ed4.0), data product is described. EBAF Ed4.0 is an update to EBAF Ed2.8, incorporating all of the Ed4.0 suite of CERES data product algorithm improvements and consistent input datasets throughout the record. A one-time adjustment to shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) TOA fluxes is made to ensure that global mean net TOA flux for July 2005–June 2015 is consistent with the in situ value of 0.71 W m −2 . While global mean all-sky TOA flux differences between Ed4.0 and Ed2.8 are within 0.5 W m −2 , appreciable SW regional differences occur over marine stratocumulus and snow/sea ice regions. Marked regional differences in SW clear-sky TOA flux occur in polar regions and dust areas over ocean. Clear-sky LW TOA fluxes in EBAF Ed4.0 exceed Ed2.8 in regions of persistent high cloud cover. Owing to substantial differences in global mean clear-sky TOA fluxes, the net cloud radiative effect in EBAF Ed4.0 is −18 W m −2 compared to −21 W m −2 in EBAF Ed2.8. The overall uncertainty in 1° × 1° latitude–longitude regional monthly all-sky TOA flux is estimated to be 3 W m −2 [one standard deviation (1 σ)] for the Terra-only period and 2.5 W m −2 for the Terra– Aqua period both for SW and LW fluxes. The SW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is estimated to be 6 W m −2 for the Terra-only period and 5 W m −2 for the Terra– Aqua period. The LW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is 5 W m −2 for Terra only and 4.5 W m −2 for Terra– Aqua.