CATS lidar on the International Space Station captured vertical profiles of atmospheric clouds and aerosols at night. This specific Level 2 Operational product provides a single day of geophysical data from February 12-13, 2015, processed by NASA's LARC_ASDC. Measurements feature a 60-meter vertical and 5-kilometer horizontal resolution across three wavelengths.
Use Cases
- Analyze diurnal changes in cloud properties by comparing nighttime layer data from this product with daytime observations.
- Study vertical distribution of aerosols using the 60m-resolution profile data across three lidar wavelengths.
- Validate atmospheric models with geophysical parameters derived from ISS-based lidar measurements at a 51-degree orbital inclination.
- Investigate cloud-aerosol interactions using range-resolved layer data collected between 230 and 270 miles above Earth's surface.
Strengths
- Provides unique nighttime observations from space for studying diurnal atmospheric cycles.
- Offers high-resolution vertical profiles with 60m resolution and 5km horizontal granularity.
- Data collected from the ISS orbit between ~230 and ~270 miles, enabling a unique spatial perspective.
Limitations
- Extremely limited temporal coverage, spanning only two days in February 2015.
- Unknown sample size and data volume for the specific product version.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA LARC_ASDC (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument on the International Space Station).
- Collection Method
- Derived from Level 1 lidar remote sensing data collected by the CATS instrument.
- Time Range
- February 12, 2015 to February III, 2015.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Global coverage from ISS orbit at 51-degree inclination.