Short Name:
CAL_LID_L2_05kmCPro-Prov-V3-30

CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 5km Cloud Profile data, Provisional V3-30

CAL_LID_L2_05kmCPro-Prov-V3-30 data are Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Lidar Level 2 Cloud Profile data. The Lidar Level 2 Cloud Profile data product contains cloud profile data and ancillary data. The cloud profile product is produced at 5 km horizontal resolution and is written in HDF. Note that there is no atmospheric volume characterization associated with the cloud profile products. Also, the 1064 calibration scheme assumes that both the extinction and the backscatter from clouds are spectrally independent. Consistent with this assumption, extinction and backscatter profiles will be reported for clouds only at 532 nm. Additionally, it is important to note that the aerosol profile product extends upward to 30.1 km, while the cloud profile product ceases at 20.2. Therefore, users interested in polar stratospheric clouds will need to order the aerosol profile data product. The science algorithms used to produce the V3.30 CALIOP data products are identical to those used to generate the V3.01 and V3.02 products; however, some of the ancillary data used in the V3.30 analyses is different. All CALIOP data products rely on meteorological data provided by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The V3.01 and V3.02 data products were produced using the GMAO's GEOS 5.2 data products. 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 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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