Corrected Satellite Cloud Anomalies for Regional Climate Analysis

Monthly anomalies in total cloud amount have been empirically corrected to remove spurious variability from satellite orbital changes and instrument calibration. Data covers a 2.5 by 2.5 degree global grid from 1983 to 2009, excluding polar regions beyond 60 degrees latitude. The correction procedure was developed by SCIOPS and applied to the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x) datasets.

Use Cases

• Analyze regional trends in corrected total cloud amount anomalies over the 1983-2009 period.
• Validate climate model outputs for cloud cover using the empirically corrected grid box anomaly data.
• Study the impact of satellite orbital changes on cloud property retrievals by comparing corrected and raw anomaly series.
• Investigate spatial patterns of cloud variability using the 2.5-degree gridded monthly anomaly data, excluding polar regions.

Strengths

• 27-year temporal coverage from 1983 to 2009 for climate trend analysis.
• Global spatial coverage on a consistent 2.5 by 2.5 degree grid, excluding poles.
• Applies empirical correction to two major satellite datasets (ISCCP and PATMOS-x) to reduce spurious variability.

Limitations

• Cannot be used for studies of globally averaged cloud change due to correction methods removing real global-scale variability.
• No data poleward of 60 degrees latitude, limiting polar climate research.
• Correction does not address spatial biases in climatological mean cloud properties.

Provenance

Source

International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x) datasets.

Collection Method

Post hoc empirical correction procedure applied to grid box anomalies to remove spurious variability from satellite orbit changes and instrument calibration.

Time Range

1983 to 2009 (first six months of 1983 not available for ISCCP).

Freshness

null

Geography

Global, 2.5 by 2.5 degree grid, excluding regions poleward of 60 degrees latitude.