CALIPSO's Level 2 Vertical Feature Mask provides scene classification and lidar lighting indicators from the CALIOP instrument. The satellite mission, a partnership between NASA and the French Space Agency CNES, operated from 2006 until its science conclusion in August 2023. It flew in the A-Train satellite constellation for coordinated Earth observations until 2018.
Use Cases
- Classifying atmospheric features like clouds and aerosols using the vertical feature mask data.
- Analyzing temporal trends in aerosol layers by leveraging the long-term time-series from 2006 to 2023.
- Studying the vertical distribution of atmospheric particles using the lidar-derived scene classification.
- Correlating lidar-based feature detection with other A-Train satellite observations for multi-instrument validation.
Strengths
- Data collection spans over 17 years from the satellite's 2006 launch to the 2023 mission end.
- Provides vertically resolved atmospheric feature classification from a dedicated spaceborne lidar instrument.
- Collected as part of the international A-Train constellation enabling coincident observations with other satellites.
Limitations
- Specific row counts, column details, and data volume are not provided in the source description.
- The primary science mission has concluded, so no new data is being produced after August 2023.
- The description lacks specifics on spatial resolution, data granularity, and potential calibration uncertainties.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) mission, a partnership with CNES.
- Collection Method
- Collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument aboard the CALIPSO satellite.
- Time Range
- 2006-04-28 to 2023-08-01 (mission science period).
- Freshness
- The dataset version was last updated in June 2023, coinciding with the mission's conclusion.
- Geography
- Global coverage from the satellite's sun-synchronous orbit.