AIRS L2 Cloud-Cleared Infrared Radiances: Satellite Atmospheric Soundings

Aqua/AIRS L2 Cloud-Cleared Infrared Radiances are calibrated, geolocated infrared radiance measurements from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder aboard NASA's EOS Aqua satellite. The data product contains channel-by-channel radiances for approximately 2378 spectral channels, processed to simulate cloud-free observations within each Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit footprint. It is generated as a separate, high-volume output from the AIRS Standard Product due to its size, with a temporal resolution of 6-minute granules and a 16-day orbit repeat cycle.

Use Cases

• Validating atmospheric retrieval algorithms based on the cloud-cleared radiances used to produce the AIRS Standard Product.
• Assimilating high-spectral-resolution infrared observations into numerical weather prediction models to improve forecast accuracy.
• Studying cloud properties and atmospheric composition by analyzing radiances from the approximately 2378 spectral channels.
• Conducting climate trend analysis using the long-term, global time-series data from the EOS Aqua platform.

Strengths

• Provides high-spectral-resolution data with approximately 2378 infrared channels, enabling detailed atmospheric profiling.
• Offers global coverage and a long-term record from the EOS Aqua satellite, which has been operational since 2002.
• Data is cloud-cleared, presenting radiances as if observed under clear-sky conditions, which simplifies analysis for many applications.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact data size are unknown across all sources.
• The product uses AIRS infrared data only, as radiometric noise increased in several AMSU channels after June 2007, which may limit synergistic use.
• License information is conflicting or unclear, listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov but 'None' on NASA Earthdata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the EOS Aqua platform.

Time Range

Since the instrument's launch (2002), with a noted change in processing due to AMSU channel noise increase in June 2007.

Freshness

2026-03-13 15:23:38.700733

Geography

Global