OMCLDO2: Global Cloud Pressure and Fraction from OMI/Aura Satellite

Version 4 of this Level-2 satellite product was publicly released in March 2026, with data reprocessed from December 2022. It provides global measurements of cloud pressure and cloud fraction derived from the O2-O2 absorption band at 477 nm, using the DOAS technique. The data is provided at a pixel resolution of 13x24 km² at nadir, with approximately 14 orbits per day.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global cloud fraction distribution based on spectral fitting of the O2-O2 absorption band.
• Validating climate model cloud parameterizations using satellite-derived cloud top pressure.
• Studying cloud-aerosol interactions by correlating cloud properties with other atmospheric trace gases like ozone.
• Assessing satellite viewing geometry effects on retrievals using included solar and satellite viewing angles.

Strengths

• Data is versioned and reprocessed with a specified processor (version 4.0.0), indicating quality control.
• Provides pixel-level uncertainty estimates for derived parameters like cloud pressure and fraction.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals importance and official provenance.

Limitations

• Sources conflict on file format (netCDF 4 vs. HDF-EOS5) and size (~13 MB vs. ~15 MB), indicating multiple versions exist.
• Column names and exact row counts are not provided in any source, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• The temporal coverage is not explicitly stated, only reprocessing and release dates are given.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Aura spacecraft's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI).

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:18:47.017967

Geography

Global