Global Daily Ice Cloud Optical Thickness Maps from GCOM-C Satellite

JAXA's GCOM-C satellite provides daily global maps of ice cloud optical thickness, a dimensionless physical quantity. Data is derived from the SGLI sensor, processed to Level 3 with a 1/12-degree spatial resolution and a 1-day statistical period. The dataset, produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, supports observations related to the global climate system.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial patterns of the ice cloud optical thickness (AVE) field to study cloud-climate interactions.
• Use the quality flag (QA_flag) column to filter and assess the reliability of optical thickness measurements for model validation.
• Correlate daily average (AVE) optical thickness values with other atmospheric variables to improve climate prediction accuracy.
• Aggregate the 1-day statistics into longer-term (8-day, 1-month) trends for climate monitoring reports.
• Map-projected EQR format data enables direct integration with other gridded climate datasets for composite analysis.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage enables analysis of ice clouds across all geographic regions.
• Data provides three temporal aggregation levels: 1-day, 8-day, and 1-month statistics for trend analysis.
• Version 3 product represents an updated processing algorithm, with Version 2 also available for comparison.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and complete temporal coverage range are not provided.
• Data is limited to ice cloud optical thickness; properties of liquid clouds or other cloud microphysics are not included.
• The 1/12-degree resolution may be too coarse for highly localized atmospheric studies.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Collection Method

Derived from SGLI sensor Level 1B and Level 2 products, statistically processed in time and space to create map-projected Level 3 data.

Time Range

Post-December 2017 launch; exact date range not specified.

Freshness

Daily product generation; satellite launched in December 2017.

Geography

Global