Description

DSCOVR cloud products will be derived from Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) observations in the ultraviolet and visible spectra. Since EPIC is not equipped with a spectral channel in the shortwave or mid-wave infrared that is sensitive to cloud effective radius (CER), Cloud Optical Thickness (COT) will be inferred from a single visible channel with the assumption of appropriate CER values for liquid and ice phase clouds. One month of Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daytime granules from April 2005 is selected for investigating cloud phase sensitivity, and a subset of these granules that has similar EPIC Sun-view geometry is selected for investigating COT uncertainties. EPIC COT retrievals are simulated with the same algorithm as the operational MODIS cloud products (MOD06), except using fixed phase-dependent CER values. Uncertainty estimates are derived by comparing the single-channel COT retrievals with the baseline bi-spectral MODIS retrievals. Results show that a single-channel COT retrieval is feasible for EPIC. For ice clouds, single-channel retrieval errors are minimal (< 2 %) due to the particle size insensitivity of the assumed ice crystal (i.e., severely roughened aggregate of hexagonal columns) scattering properties at visible wavelengths, while for liquid clouds the error is mostly limited to within 10 %, although for thin clouds (COT < 2) the error can be higher. Potential uncertainties in EPIC cloud masking and cloud temperature retrievals are not considered in this study.

DOI

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Publications which Cite this Collection

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Yin, Bangsheng; Min, Qilong; Morgan, Emily; Yang, Yuekui; Marshak, Alexander; Davis, Anthony B. (2022). Cloud-top pressure retrieval with DSCOVR EPIC oxygen A- and B-band observations.

Zhou, Yaping; Yang, Yuekui; Gao, Meng; Zhai, Peng-Wang (2021). Cloud detection over snow and ice with oxygen A- and B-band observations from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC).

Yang, Yuekui; Meyer, Kerry; Wind, Galina; Zhou, Yaping; Marshak, Alexander; Platnick, Steven; Min, Qilong; Davis, Anthony B.; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, Alexander; Duda, David; Su, Wenying (2020). Cloud products from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC): algorithms and initial evaluation.

Gu, Lixiang; Fan, Siteng; Li, Jiazheng; Bartlett, Stuart J.; Natraj, Vijay; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Crisp, David; Hu, Yongyun; Tinetti, Giovanna; Yung, Yuk L. (2018). Earth as a Proxy Exoplanet: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Spectrophotometric Light Curves.

Resources and Documentation

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Earthdata Forum

DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

NOAA's Weather and Climate Toolkit

GOTO WEB TOOL

DSCOVR EPIC Visualization Tool

PROFESSIONAL HOME PAGE

NOAA - National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

PROJECT HOME PAGE

VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

ALGORITHM DOCUMENTATION

• EPIC Geolocation and Color Imagery Algorithm Revision 5 July 5, 2017

DATA CITATION POLICY

• How to cite ASDC data

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

• EPIC Cloud Product Description

INSTRUMENT/SENSOR CALIBRATION DOCUMENTATION

• DSCOVR Earth Science Instrument Overview
• EPIC level 1 A & B Calibration factors table

MICRO ARTICLE

• A New Blue Marble By Scott Kelly, NASA Astronaut
• NASA Captures "EPIC" Earth Image Article from July 20, 2015
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: 2016 Tournament Earth Champion: The Dark Side of the Moon - The images were acquired by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the DSCOVR satellite
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: An EPIC Eclipse: Natural Hazards - The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) was built to provide a distinct perspective on our planet.
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: An EPIC New View of Earth: Image of the Day - From one million miles away, the DSCOVR satellite returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: April : 2016 : Earth Matters : Blog - The images were acquired by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the DSCOVR satellite
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Keeping on the Sunny Side of Earth
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Plumes From Africa's Volcanic Duo: Image of the Day - Located near the equator in central Africa, the Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo volcanoes are often obscured from satellite view by clouds
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Seeing Through the Smoky Pall: Observations from a Grim Indonesian Fire Season - The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera aboard the DSCOVR satellite acquired this view of smoke drifting over the region.
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Space Debris: Image of the Day - Low and High Earth Orbital Debris Images
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: The Dark Side and the Bright Side: Image of the Day - A NASA camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) has captured a unique view of the Moon as it passed between the spacecraft and Earth
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: The Legacy of Nimbus: Image of the Day - No Longer Just for Astronauts
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Up, Up, and Away for DSCOVR - The journey has been a long one for the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR)
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan: Image of the Day
• NASA Leadership Blog, DSCOVR’s First Light on the Future by Buzz Aldrin
• NASA Studies High Clouds, Saharan Dust from EPIC View
• New York Times Blog "From a Million Miles Away, a New NASA ‘Blue Marble’ View of Earth" By Andrew C. Revkin
• The Atlantic Article "Al Gore Dreamed Up a Satellite—and It Just Took Its First Picture of Earth: The U.S. Deep Space Climate Observatory just sent back its first view of our home world, and it’s a beauty." By Robinson Meyer, July 20, 2015

PROCESSING HISTORY

• EPIC Data Format Control Book Specification July 1, 2016

RELATED ARTICLES

• Earth Observation Portal Page for DSCOVR Mission Information

USER FEEDBACK PAGE

• NASA Goddard Twitter Page

Keywords

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