Oct. 9, 2019, 8 a.m.

Project: CALIPSO

Data Release Date: October 9, 2019
Version: 4.20
Data Date Range: June 13, 2006 to present

 

The CALIPSO mission team, in collaboration with the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center announces the release of a new version of the CALIOP Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Profile Product.

 

• CAL_LID_L3_Tropospheric_APro-Standard-V4-20

 

The CALIPSO Lidar Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Product reports monthly mean profiles of aerosol optical properties on a uniform spatial grid for altitudes below 12 km. All level 3 parameters are derived from quality-screened CALIOP level 2 aerosol profile product data. The primary quantities reported are vertical profiles of aerosol extinction coefficient at 532 nm and its vertical integral, the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The version 4.20 release of this product is constructed from version 4 level 2 input data which are the highest quality and most sophisticated of all CALIOP level 2 data products. New level 3 quality screening procedures have also been implemented to improve the quality of data reported by the product.

 

As in the previous version, averaged profile data is reported for all aerosols, regardless of type, and for dust only, polluted dust only, and smoke only. Four different types of level 3 files produced, depending on the sky condition and the temporal coverage of the data prior to averaging:

 

Description of the four sky conditions are below. There are two files per sky condition: day or night.

 

1. All Sky: All level 2 columns are averaged, regardless of cloud occurrence
2. Cloud-Free: Only cloud-free level 2 columns are averaged
3. Cloudy-Sky, Transparent: Only level 2 columns containing transparent clouds are averaged
4. Cloud-Sky, Opaque: Only level 2 columns containing opaque clouds are averaged

 

The monthly products are available beginning with data from June 2006 (following CALIOP first light on June 13, 2006) through current.

 

Information about this new data product including data availability, user documentation and quality statements, relevant links, sample read software, and tools for working with the data, etc. can be found at the following ASDC link: https://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/project/calipso/calipso_table.

 

An in-depth data quality summary and description can be found in the following CALIPSO links:
https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/resources/calipso_users_guide/qs/cal_lid_l3_tropospheric_apro_v4-20.php
https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/resources/calipso_users_guide/data_summaries/l3/cal_lid_l3_tropospheric_apro_v4-20_desc.php