CATS-ISS Level 2 Operational Day Mode 7.2 Version 3-00 5 km Layer is a lidar remote sensing data product from the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument on the International Space Station. It provides vertical profiles of atmospheric aerosols and clouds at three wavelengths, with a 60m vertical and 5km horizontal resolution. The collection spans from March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017.
Use Cases
- Analyze diurnal changes in cloud effects by comparing profiles from the same location at different times of day.
- Study vertical distribution of aerosols using the 60m vertical resolution profile data.
- Model atmospheric transport using the three wavelength measurements to differentiate particle types.
- Validate climate models with geophysical parameters derived from Level 1 data at 5km horizontal resolution.
- Investigate the nearly three-day repeat cycle orbital pattern for temporal atmospheric studies.
Strengths
- Data spans over two years from March 2015 to October 2017.
- Provides profiles at 60m vertical and 5km horizontal resolution.
- First space-based instrument to study diurnal cloud and aerosol changes.
- Operated from the ISS at altitudes between ~230 and ~270 miles.
Limitations
- Data collection ended in October 2017, limiting current analysis.
- Specific column names and data volume details are unknown.
- Geographic coverage is constrained by the ISS orbit at a 51-degree inclination.
Provenance
- Source
- LARC_ASDC via NASA Earthdata.
- Collection Method
- Data gathered by the CATS lidar instrument on the International Space Station.
- Time Range
- March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Global coverage from ISS orbit between ~230 and ~270 miles altitude at 51-degree inclination.