CATS lidar provided the first space-based diurnal observations of cloud and aerosol effects from the International Space Station. The Level 1B data product contains calibrated vertical profiles at three wavelengths, collected from February 10 to March 21, 2015. This dataset was produced by NASA's Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center.
Use Cases
- Analyze diurnal changes in cloud properties by comparing lidar backscatter profiles from the same location at different times of day.
- Validate aerosol transport models using the vertical profile data annotated with ancillary meteorological information.
- Study the spatial distribution of atmospheric particulates using the georeferenced data from the ISS orbit at 51-degree inclination.
- Correlate aerosol optical properties with wavelength-dependent measurements from the three-channel lidar instrument.
Strengths
- Provides unique diurnal cycle observations from space, a first for cloud and aerosol studies.
- Data is calibrated and annotated with ancillary meteorological data.
- Vertical profiles are resolved at three distinct wavelengths.
Limitations
- Temporal coverage is limited to a 40-day period in early 2015.
- Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown.
- Data collection ended prematurely; the instrument was intended to operate for three years.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).
- Collection Method
- Collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) lidar instrument aboard the International Space Station.
- Time Range
- February 10, 2015 through March 21, 2015.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Global coverage between approximately 51 degrees north and south latitude, from an altitude of ~230 to ~270 miles.