Monthly Global Cloud Liquid Water Measurements From Satellite

Monthly statistical mean values of cloud liquid water over ocean areas, derived from the AMSR2 sensor onboard the GCOM-W satellite. The dataset, produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), provides gridded data at a 0.1-degree resolution. It includes mean values, standard deviations, and counts of valid observations for each grid cell.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial and temporal trends in the 'Month Mean Cloud liquid water (CLW)' column to study cloud climatology over oceans.
• Assessing data reliability for a region by comparing the 'Average_Number' and 'Total_Number' columns to filter grids with sufficient observations.
• Quantifying measurement variability within monthly composites using the 'Standard_Deviation' column for each pixel.
• Modeling the relationship between columnar cloud liquid water and other atmospheric parameters using the gridded CLW data as a target variable.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage over ocean areas at a consistent 0.1-degree grid resolution.
• Includes data quality metrics like 'Standard_Deviation', 'Average_Number', and 'Total_Number' for each grid cell.
• Long-term data collection enabled by the GCOM-W satellite launched in 2012.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is restricted to over-ocean areas only, excluding land regions.
• Sea ice and precipitating areas are flagged, which may create data gaps in certain regions and seasons.
• The dataset provides monthly composites, lacking the temporal resolution for sub-monthly process studies.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Collection Method

Microwave remote sensing from the AMSR2 instrument on the GCOM-W satellite, with Level 3 processing calculating monthly statistical means from daily inputs.

Time Range

Post-May 2012 onward, following the satellite launch.

Freshness

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Geography

Global, over ocean only.