Global Cloud Top Temperature Maps from ADEOS-II Satellite

ADEOS-II/GLI L3 STA Map Cloud Top Temperature data provides global measurements of water cloud top temperature in Kelvin. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) produced this dataset from the GLI sensor onboard the Midori II satellite. The data has a spatial resolution of 1/4 degree and a statistical period of 16 days.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial patterns of cloud top temperature for water clouds using the 1/4-degree gridded global maps.
• Validate climate model simulations of cloud radiative effects against the satellite-derived temperature data.
• Study seasonal or interannual variability in cloud thermal properties using the 16-day and 1-month statistical composites.
• Correlate cloud top temperature with other atmospheric variables in studies of the water and energy cycle.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage for a complete planetary view.
• Data derived from three specific GLI sensor channels (13, 30, 35) for physical retrieval.
• Available at two temporal aggregation levels: 16-day and 1-month statistics.

Limitations

• Data collection ended with the ADEOS-II mission, with the last update in 2003, making it temporally stale for current climate studies.
• Product is specific to water clouds, excluding ice or mixed-phase clouds.
• Spatial resolution of 1/4 degree may be too coarse for regional or mesoscale atmospheric studies.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) via the ADEOS-II/GLI sensor.

Collection Method

Remote sensing observations from the GLI optical sensor, with cloud top temperature retrieved using a reflection method from specific channels.

Time Range

Coverage corresponds to the operational period of the ADEOS-II satellite, culminating in a final product version in 2003.

Freshness

Last updated 2003-10-25; no ongoing updates expected.

Geography

Global coverage.