CALIPSO Lidar Level 0 Satellite Data

Level 0 raw data from the CALIPSO satellite's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument. The data product combines three 90-minute raw binary files into a single file containing lidar measurements and health/status data for the 532 nm parallel, 532 nm perpendicular, and 1064 nm channels. This mission was a partnership between NASA and the French Space Agency CNES, launched in 2006 and concluding its science mission in August 2023.

Use Cases

• Analyzing raw 532 nm parallel and perpendicular channel signals to study aerosol particle shape and composition.
• Calibrating or validating higher-level lidar data products using the health and status data fields.
• Studying diurnal or seasonal patterns of cloud layers by examining time-series lidar backscatter at 1064 nm.
• Comparing coincident Earth observations by aligning this Level 0 data timeline with other A-Train constellation satellite passes.

Strengths

• Data combines measurements from three distinct lidar channels (532 nm parallel, 532 nm perpendicular, 1064 nm).
• Mission provides a long-term record from launch in 2006 through the conclusion of its science mission in 2023.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column names, and data volume are unknown from the provided description.
• Data is raw Level 0 format, requiring significant processing and expert knowledge to interpret and use.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).

Collection Method

Collected by the CALIOP lidar instrument aboard the CALIPSO satellite.

Time Range

From satellite launch on April 28, 2006, through the conclusion of the science mission on August 1, 2023.

Freshness

Last updated record indicates a metadata update in June 2023, but the science mission concluded in August 2023.

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's sun-synchronous orbit, initially at 705 km and later lowered to 688 km.