TEMPO Cloud Pressure and Fraction Near Real-Time Data

TEMPO cloud Level 2 (PROVISIONAL) files provide cloud information at the instrument's native spatial resolution, approximately 10 km^2 at the center of its Field of Regard. The files contain effective cloud fraction, cloud optical centroid pressure, scene albedo, scene pressure, ancillary data, and processing quality flags. The near real-time products are processed for low-latency requirements, available within 2-3 hours after observation.

Use Cases

• Monitoring cloud fraction dynamics based on reflectance at 466 nm.
• Analyzing cloud optical centroid pressure derived from O2-O2 slant column density.
• Assessing scene albedo and pressure for atmospheric modeling.
• Evaluating processing quality flags for data reliability in near real-time applications.

Strengths

• Data is processed for near real-time availability, within 2-3 hours after observation.
• Provides cloud information at a native spatial resolution of approximately 10 km^2.
• Contains multiple derived parameters including effective cloud fraction and cloud optical centroid pressure.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is labeled as PROVISIONAL, indicating it may not be the final quality product.

Provenance

Source

LARC_CLOUD

Collection Method

Derived from TEMPO satellite observations using a fast version of the baseline retrieval processor with Look Up Tables.

Geography

Covers the North-South Field of Regard of the TEMPO instrument, with portions of the East-West Field of Regard.