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    • Nimbus-7 Narrow Field of View (NFOV) Maximum Likelihood Cloud Estimation (MLCE) Data in Native Format

    Metadata Updated: February 6, 2026

    NIMBUS7_NFOV_MLCE data are Nimbus 7 Narrow Field of View (NFOV) Maximum Likelihood Cloud Estimation (MLCE) Data in Native Format.The NIMBUS7_NFOV_MLCE data set uses the Nimbus-7 measurements and the MLCE algorithm for better regional and temporal resolution. The Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) parameters, derived from the Nimbus-7 scanner measurements, were rederived in 1990 using a Maximum Likelihood Cloud Estimation (MLCE) algorithm similar, but not identical, to the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) algorithm. Daily and monthly means are presented on two commensurate equal area world grids: (167 km by 167 km) and (500 km by 500 km). The MLCE procedure also yielded a rough estimate of the regional cloud cover.The scanner took measurements from November 16, 1978 through June 20, 1980; however, only 13 months (May 1979 through May 1980) of data sampling were reprocessed using the Sorting into Angular Bins and MLCE algorithms. There was poorer temporal sampling during the first five months of the experiment.The Nimbus 7 research-and-development satellite served as a stabilized, earth-oriented platform for the testing of advanced systems for sensing and collecting data in the pollution, oceanographic and meteorological disciplines. The polar-orbiting spacecraft consisted of three major structures: (1) a hollow torus-shaped sensor mount, (2) solar paddles, and (3) a control housing unit that was connected to the sensor mount by a tripod truss structure.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date February 6, 2026

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date February 6, 2026
    Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
    Maintainer
    Identifier C1328028152-LARC_ASDC
    Data First Published 1999-09-28
    Language en-US
    Data Last Modified 2025-07-17
    Category NIMBUS-7, geospatial
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id 6608cd01-91dc-48e0-968f-688911608465
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    Homepage URL https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov:443/search/concepts/C1328028152-LARC_ASDC.html
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><gml:Polygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml/3.2" srsName="EPSG:9825"><gml:outerBoundaryIs><gml:LinearRing><gml:posList>-90.0 -180.0 -90.0 180.0 90.0 180.0 90.0 -180.0 -90.0 -180.0</gml:posList></gml:LinearRing></gml:outerBoundaryIs><gml:innerBoundaryIs></gml:innerBoundaryIs></gml:Polygon>
    Program Code 026:001
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 663f9af75c49e95b0639ba6475eef74542c033bfd92dc9115c794e3b72d7efbd
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 1979-05-01T00:00:00Z/1980-05-31T23:59:59.999Z

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