CALIPSO Lidar Cloud and Aerosol Layer Profiles at 5 km Resolution

Data from 2006 to 2023 provides cloud and aerosol layer properties from the CALIPSO satellite's CALIOP lidar instrument. This Level 2 merged layer product, generated by NASA and the French Space Agency CNES, reports column and layer descriptors at a 5 km horizontal resolution. The mission concluded its science operations in August 2023.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical distribution of atmospheric features using reported layer base and top altitudes.
• Study aerosol optical properties and cloud composition by modeling with integrated attenuated backscatter and optical depth data.
• Correlate atmospheric layer detection with surface conditions using column descriptors for surface type and lighting indicators.
• Track feature frequency and distribution over time using the number of features identified per atmospheric column.

Strengths

• 17-year temporal coverage from the satellite's 2006 launch through its 2023 mission conclusion.
• Data products are generated at a consistent 5 km horizontal resolution for spatial analysis.
• Provides two general classes of structured data: Column Properties and Layer Properties for comprehensive profiling.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and total data volume are unknown, hindering resource planning.
• Data collection concluded in 2023, limiting analysis of recent atmospheric conditions.
• Unknown license terms may restrict certain commercial or redistribution uses.

Provenance

Source

NASA and the French Space Agency (CNES) CALIPSO mission, processed by LARC_CLOUD.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2006-04-28 to 2023-08-01

Freshness

Last platform update was June 30, 2023; the underlying science mission concluded in August 2023.

Geography

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