CALIPSO Lidar Level 0 PIVB: Raw Backscatter Profiles

CALIPSO Lidar Level 0 PIVB data contains raw, unprocessed altitude-dependent profiles of backscatter signals at 15-meter resolution. These data were collected intermittently between August 2016 and June 2023 using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument on the CALIPSO satellite. The product includes time and position information for each laser pulse, instrument engineering data, and measurement altitudes.

Use Cases

• Verify lidar instrument performance based on raw backscatter signals from three channels (532 nm parallel, 532 nm perpendicular, and 1064 nm)
• Analyze raw atmospheric backscatter profiles for research into cloud and aerosol physics
• Study the temporal evolution of atmospheric signals based on data collected intermittently over a seven-year period
• Correlate raw lidar measurements with other satellite observations from the A-Train or C-Train constellations

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (15 m) raw backscatter profiles for three distinct spectral channels
• Includes time and position information for each laser pulse, enabling temporal and spatial analysis
• Data spans a significant time range, collected intermittently from August 2016 to June 2023

Limitations

• Data is not altitude-registered, geolocated, range-corrected, or calibrated, requiring significant post-processing for scientific use
• Data capture was episodic and not part of routine science operations, limiting temporal continuity
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French Space Agency (CNES)

Collection Method

Data packets created by CALIPSO payload flight software when commanded from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument.

Time Range

August 2016 to June 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:20:05.923459; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global coverage from the CALIPSO satellite orbit, which flew at 705 km and later 688 km above Earth.