CloudCube: Multifrequency Radar Observations of Marine Clouds

Ka, W, and G-band radar observations of clouds and light precipitation were collected from March 23 to April 27, 2023, during the EPCAPE campaign in La Jolla, California. The dataset contains Doppler spectra, calibrated reflectivity, mean Doppler velocity, and spectrum width, organized by altitude and time. These multifrequency measurements from the CloudCube profiling radar are intended to demonstrate synergies for cloud property retrievals.

Use Cases

• Analyzing cloud microphysical properties based on calibrated reflectivity and Doppler spectra moments.
• Developing multifrequency retrieval algorithms using Ka, W, and G-band reflectivity ratios.
• Studying the vertical structure and dynamics of marine clouds using time-series observations organized by altitude.
• Validating atmospheric models with observations of mean Doppler velocity and spectrum width.

Strengths

• Provides multifrequency radar data (Ka, W, and G-band), a relatively rare combination for atmospheric profiling.
• Covers a specific, well-defined observational period from March 23 to April 27, 2023.
• Includes processed data products such as noise-masked Doppler spectra and calibrated moments, reducing initial processing burden.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across any source.
• Sources show minor conflicts in file naming conventions (YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS vs. MMDDYY_HHMMSS) and folder contents descriptions.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to approximately five weeks from a single geographic location.

Provenance

Source

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, collected using the CloudCube atmospheric profiling radar.

Collection Method

Radar observations during the EPCAPE field campaign.

Time Range

March 23, 2023 to April 27, 2023

Geography

La Jolla, California, USA