ASDC | MIL3QCFA

MISR Level 3

Entry Title: MISR Level 3 Cloud Fraction by Altitude Product covering a quarter (seasonal) V001

Entry ID: MIL3QCFA_001

Clouds

Description

MIL3QCFA_001 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 Cloud Fraction by Altitude Product covering a quarter (seasonal) version 1. It provides the frequency of cloud occurrence partitioned into different cloud top height bins at a global and monthly scale with a latitude/longitude resolution of 0.5 degree by 0.5 degree and a vertical resolution of 500m. For each height bin, the frequency of cloud occurrence of a region over a time period is represented by the temporal mean of the spatial coverage of cloud tops. The spatial coverage of clouds is referred to as cloud fraction, which is defined as the ratio of the number of cloudy pixels to the total number of cloudy and cloud-free pixels observed by the instrument. Clouds are assigned to height bins based on their top height as retrieved by the MISR stereoscopic technique. Data collection for this product is complete.

The MISR instrument consists of nine pushbroom cameras which measure radiance in four spectral bands. Global coverage is achieved in nine days. The cameras are arranged with one camera pointing toward the nadir, four cameras pointing forward, and four cameras pointing aftward. It takes seven minutes for all nine cameras to view the same surface location. The view angles relative to the surface reference ellipsoid, are 0, 26.1, 45.6, 60.0, and 70.5 degrees. The spectral band shapes are nominally Gaussian, centered at 443, 555, 670, and 865 nm.

MISR itself is an instrument designed to view Earth with cameras pointed in 9 different directions. As the instrument flies overhead, each piece of Earth's surface below is successively imaged by all 9 cameras, in each of 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the affects of sunlight on Earth, as well as distinguish different types of clouds, particles and surfaces. Specifically, MISR monitors the monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in three areas: 1) amount and type of atmospheric particles (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources and by human activities; 2) amounts, types, and heights of clouds, and 3) distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.

DOI

10.5067/Terra/MISR/MIL3QCFA_L3.001

Citation Styles for this Dataset

VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

NASA EOS ATB Documents: MISR

ANOMALIES

ASDC Terra Spacecraft Loss of Accurate Orbit Data Record

DATA CITATION POLICY

How to cite ASDC data

DATA QUALITY

MISR Quality Statements for Current Products

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

PI DOCUMENTATION

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

MISR Level 3 Cloud Fraction by Altitude Product Quality Statement - January 04, 2018

PRODUCT USAGE

PRODUCTION HISTORY

PUBLICATIONS

MISR Peer-Reviewed Publications

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Looking at the Moon to Better See Earth - Terra satellite performs manuver that allows all nine of MISR's camera to capture images of the moon.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Squeezing Water from Rock - Survivors of the New Madrid earthquakes reported not only intense ground shaking and land movement, but also an unfamiliar phenomenon of water and sand spouting up through cracks in the Earth's surface.

NASA Earth Observatory Article: Tracking Clouds - Tune in to the evening weather report on any given day, and you'll no doubt see satellite images of clouds.

NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Aerosols over Australia - Researchers explore the links between atmospheric aerosols, climate change, and ultraviolet rays.

NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Cloudy with a chance of Drizzle - By analyzing data from the MISR instrument, scientists discover that a unique type of cloud formation is much more prevalent than was previously believed.

NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Following the World Trade Center plume - Remote sensing helps track the drift of harmful pollutants following the World Trade Center collapse.

NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Smoke over Athens - The effects of forest fires show up in a multi-satellite view of pollution.

NASA JPL Images: Tropical Storm Harvey over Texas - After making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane the day before, striking images are captured by MISR as the storm maintained a dangerous tropical storm status.

NASA JPL Photojournal: New Images of Irma's Towering Clouds - MISR passes over Irma over the Dominican Republic as a Category 5 hurricane.

USER'S GUIDE

From GCMD Science Keywords:

CLOUD FRACTION > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUDS
CLOUD CEILING > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD BASE HEIGHT > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD TOP HEIGHT > CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD HEIGHT > CLOUD PROPERTIES

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

HDF-EOS2

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (S: -90, N: 90), (W: -180, E: 180)
Spatial Coverage Type: Horizontal
Longitude Resolution: 0.5 degree
Latitude Resolution: 0.5 degree
Horizontal Resolution Range: 50 km - < 100 km or approximately .5 degree - < 1 degree
Vertical Resolution: 500 m
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

GLOBAL LAND

Temporal Information

Temporal Coverage: 2000-03-01 - Present
Temporal Resolution: Quarterly (seasonal)

Platforms

Earth Observation Satellites

Terra

Earth Observing System, TERRA (AM-1)

MISR

Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer

AN DF CF BF AF AA BA CA DA

Metadata Dates

Created on 2019-07-09

Last updated on 2022-01-28