Global Water Cloud Optical Thickness from ADEOS-II Satellite

Cloud optical thickness of water clouds is derived from the GLI sensor aboard the ADEOS-II satellite. JAXA produced this Level 3 standard map product with a 1/4-degree spatial resolution and 16-day statistical period. The dataset was last updated in October 2003.

Use Cases

• Validate and calibrate climate model simulations of cloud radiative effects using the gridded cloud optical thickness values.
• Analyze spatial and temporal patterns of water cloud properties for climate change research using the 16-day composite maps.
• Study the correlation between cloud optical thickness and other atmospheric variables by integrating this geospatial layer with other satellite products.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage for a complete planetary view.
• Data is derived from a multi-channel system (channels 13, 30, 35) for physical retrieval.
• Standard map projection (EQR) facilitates integration with other geospatial datasets.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the last update in 2003.
• Spatial resolution of 1/4 degree may be coarse for regional-scale studies.
• Specific row count, file size, and validation metrics are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Collection Method

Retrieved from the GLI optical sensor onboard the ADEOS-II satellite using a reflection method with non-absorption, absorption, and thermal channels.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Static dataset last updated on 2003-10-25.

Geography

Global.