Ceilometer Cloud Base Heights and Backscatter from Macquarie Island 2016-2018

From April 2016 to March 2018, a Vaisala CL51 ceilometer at Macquarie Island collected hourly data on cloud base heights and raw backscattered signals. The data, provided in netCDF format with a 10-meter vertical and 6-second temporal resolution, was converted by Peter Kuma at the University of Canterbury. All measurements are recorded in Universal Time.

Use Cases

• Analyze cloud base height variability based on the Vaisala-derived cloud base heights mentioned in the description.
• Study atmospheric backscatter profiles based on the raw backscattered signal data.
• Validate satellite-based cloud detection algorithms based on the ground-based ceilometer measurements.
• Investigate seasonal cloud patterns in a sub-Antarctic environment based on the two-year time series.

Strengths

• Data covers a two-year period from April 2016 to March 2018, providing a substantial temporal record.
• High-resolution measurements with 10-meter vertical and 6-second temporal granularity.
• Includes both raw backscatter signals and processed cloud base heights, offering primary and derived data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2018-03-13 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

University of Canterbury, via NASA Earthdata and the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC).

Collection Method

Instrument data collected by a Vaisala CL51 ceilometer located at Macquarie Island.

Time Range

02 April 2016 – 13 March 2018

Freshness

Last updated 2018-03-13 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Macquarie Island