CATS-ISS Level 2 Operational Night Mode data provides vertical profiles of atmospheric aerosols and clouds derived from lidar measurements. This collection contains geophysical parameters at 60m vertical and 5km horizontal resolution, spanning from March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017. The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument was operated from the International Space Station by NASA's LARC ASDC.
Use Cases
- Analyzing diurnal changes in cloud properties using backscatter profiles at three wavelengths.
- Studying vertical distribution and transport of aerosols like dust or smoke from the layer height and extinction data.
- Validating climate and weather models with geophysical parameters like optical depth and layer top/bottom altitude.
- Investigating spatial patterns of cloud and aerosol effects over the ISS orbital track between ~230 and ~270 miles altitude.
Strengths
- Provides unique diurnal cycle observations from space with a nearly three-day repeat cycle over the same locations.
- Offers high-resolution vertical profiles with 60m vertical and 5km horizontal granularity.
- Covers a multi-year operational period from 2015 to 2017, intended for a three-year mission.
Limitations
- Data collection ended in October 2017, limiting analysis to historical conditions up to that date.
- Spatial coverage is limited to the ISS orbital track at a 51-degree inclination, excluding polar regions.
- Product is specifically for night mode observations, lacking direct daytime counterparts in this collection.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).
- Collection Method
- Data derived from Level 1 measurements collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) lidar instrument on the International Space Station.
- Time Range
- March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017.
- Freshness
- Data collection is historical, with the last update on 2017-10-29.
- Geography
- Global coverage along the ISS orbital track between approximately 51 degrees latitude north and south.