AIRS2CCF: Cloud-Cleared Infrared Radiances from Aqua Satellite

Global atmospheric observations from the AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The dataset contains calibrated, geolocated infrared radiances for approximately 2378 spectral channels, processed to simulate cloud-free conditions within each sensor footprint. These radiances are a fundamental input for retrieving standard atmospheric products and are generated for all 240 daily data granules.

Use Cases

• Validating atmospheric retrieval algorithms based on the primary infrared radiance inputs.
• Assimilating cloud-cleared radiances into numerical weather prediction models to improve initial conditions.
• Studying clear-sky radiative properties of the atmosphere across 2378 spectral channels.
• Investigating long-term stability and calibration of the AIRS instrument, particularly after AMSU channel noise increased in June 2007.

Strengths

• Provides high spectral resolution data from approximately 2378 infrared channels.
• Offers global coverage with a 16-day orbit repeat cycle and 240 data granules produced per day.
• Data is calibrated and geolocated, representing radiances as they would appear under cloud-free conditions.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown across all sources.
• The dataset's large data volume, described as an order of magnitude larger than standard products, may pose storage and processing challenges.
• License information is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' on some platforms and absent on others.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) grating spectrometer aboard the EOS Aqua satellite.

Time Range

Data collection began with the Aqua mission; a specific product version (AIRS-only) was initiated due to increased noise in a companion instrument's channel 4 since June 2007.

Freshness

2026-04-10 17:19:02.670485

Geography

Global