CALIPSO Tropospheric Aerosol Profiles Under Opaque Cloud Conditions

Monthly mean vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties derived from the CALIOP lidar instrument. Data are reported on a uniform spatial grid for altitudes below 12 kilometers, specifically for atmospheric columns containing opaque clouds. This product is part of the ongoing CALIPSO mission, a joint NASA and CNES satellite launched in 2006.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical distribution of aerosol extinction coefficient at 532 nm under opaque cloud conditions to study aerosol transport.
• Calculating regional aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the integrated profiles to assess atmospheric particulate pollution.
• Investigating the spatial distribution of mineral dust aerosols using the classified aerosol-type flags from the source Level 2 data.
• Comparing aerosol properties across the four defined sky conditions (All Sky, Cloud-Free, Cloudy-Sky Transparent, Cloudy-Sky Opaque) to isolate cloud effects.

Strengths

• Data is derived from the version 4.21 CALIOP Level 2 aerosol profile product, which has undergone quality screening before averaging.
• Provides long-term, ongoing data collection from a satellite mission launched in 2006, supporting climate trend analysis.
• Reports profiles on a uniform spatial grid, facilitating consistent spatial analysis and model comparison.

Limitations

• Profile data is limited to altitudes below 12 km, excluding stratospheric aerosol information.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and geographic coverage details for this 'Cloudy-Sky Opaque' subset are not provided in the description.
• The data product's last known update was in January 2022, which may indicate a processing lag for recent observations.

Provenance

Source

NASA's CALIPSO satellite mission, a joint project with the French space agency CNES.

Collection Method

Data collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument, processed into monthly mean Level 3 profiles from Level 2 aerosol data.

Time Range

Ongoing since the CALIPSO launch in April 2006.

Freshness

Data collection is described as ongoing, but the product's last documented update was 2022-01-01.

Geography

Global coverage from the CALIPSO satellite's orbit within the A-Train constellation.