Short Name:
CAL_LID_L2_05kmAPro-Prov-V3-01

CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 5km Aerosol Profile data, Provisional V3-01

CAL_LID_L2_05kmAPro-Prov-V3-01 data are Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Lidar Level 2 aerosol profile data using the CALIPSO Lidar Ratio selection algorithm. The Lidar Level 2 Aerosol Profile data products contain averaged aerosol profile data and ancillary data. There are no layer descriptors included in the lidar aerosol profile data products. The spatial distribution of the aerosol layers is instead completely characterized by the aerosol layer fraction and atmospheric volume description parameters. The aerosol profile products are generated at a uniform horizontal resolution of 5 km. The aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficients are computed using a lidar ratio selected by the CALIPSO Lidar Ratio selection algorithm. Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) was launched on April 28, 2006 to study the impact of clouds and aerosols on the Earth's radiation budget and climate. It flies in the international A-Train (PDF) constellation for coincident Earth observations. The CALIPSO satellite comprises three instruments, the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR), and the Wide Field Camera (WFC). CALIPSO is a joint satellite mission between NASA and the French Agency, CNES.

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