CERES is in operation on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) as well as on EOS Terra and has been selected for flight on the Aqua platform. It determines components of the EarthΓÇÖs radiation budget and atmospheric radiation fluxes from the top of the atmosphere to the surface. It also provides data that allows the determination of a wide variety of cloud characteristics and cloud amounts. Cloud measurements and radiation flux measurements are fundamental inputs to models of oceanic and atmospheric energetics, and contribute to extended-range weather forecasting. CERES measures the overall ΓÇ£totalΓÇ¥ (broadband) radiation coming from the Earth, and then, separately, measures the components of that radiation in the shortwave and longwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. CERES has a spatial resolution of 21 km.
