CALIPSO Satellite Lidar Cloud Layer Profiles

Cloud layer data from the CALIPSO satellite's CALIOP lidar instrument, providing column and layer properties for atmospheric columns. The dataset is produced by NASA and the French CNES from the mission launched in 2006. Version 4-51 data includes observations from the satellite's time in the A-Train constellation (2006-2018) and subsequent C-Train operations.

Use Cases

• Classifying cloud layer types and heights using the Layer Properties descriptors.
• Analyzing correlations between surface type indicators from Column Properties and cloud formation.
• Studying temporal trends in cloud coverage and feature count per atmospheric column over the mission's timespan.
• Validating climate models by comparing modeled cloud profiles against observed layer optical properties.

Strengths

• Data collected from a dedicated satellite mission spanning over 12 years of operation.
• Provides vertically resolved atmospheric data from the CALIOP lidar, a primary instrument for cloud and aerosol profiling.
• Standardized data product (Version 4-51) ensuring consistency for longitudinal analysis.

Limitations

• Specific row count, geographic coverage granularity, and sample size per observation are unknown from the description.
• Data collection ended in September 2018 for the primary A-Train formation, limiting analysis of recent atmospheric conditions.
• Unknown license terms may restrict certain types of redistribution or commercial use.

Provenance

Source

NASA and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) joint CALIPSO mission.

Collection Method

Data collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument on the CALIPSO satellite.

Time Range

Mission launched April 2006; primary A-Train constellation data from June 13, 2006, to September 13, 2018.

Freshness

Product version last updated in June 2023, but underlying data collection ended in 2018.

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's sun-synchronous orbit.