Data Product Description - Lidar Level 3 Cloud Product for the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Cloud Assessment - Monthly Product Version 1.00
Updated: June 7, 2021
Introduction
The lidar level 3 (L3) cloud product for the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment
(GEWEX) Cloud Assessment (hereafter the L3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product)
reports global distributions of cloud occurrence and cloud top on a 2-dimentional (2D)
spatial grid. Cloud top is represented as cloud top temperature, cloud top pressure and
geometric cloud top height.
The product is produced following the general guidance of the GEWEX Cloud Assessment.
The cloud occurrence is estimated at three altitude levels, i.e., high, middle and low
levels separated by cloud top pressure thresholds 440 hectopascal (hPa) and 860 hPa. It
is also described by different cloud phase: water clouds, ice clouds and ice clouds at
high level. Though the contents are the same as the CALIPSO cloud product reported to the
GEWEX website
(hereafter the L3 standard format GEWEX cloud product), the data structure is slightly
different. Instead of reporting each cloud property as yearly files, this product includes
all cloud properties as monthly files. And the product is represented as Hierarchical
Data Format (HDF) 4 format instead of Network Common Data Form (netCDF) 4 format.
The changes are made to keep consistency with other current L3 CALIPSO cloud and
aerosol products.
As explained in the
Detailed Data Quality document,
four different flavors are produced following four different philosophies: top layer,
passive, column and opaque. The top layer flavor chooses the top layer cloud only
in each profile. Similar to top layer flavor, passive flavor chooses the top layer
cloud which would be detected by a passive sensor. This typically refers to an
optically thick cloud layer, which defined as a water cloud layer or an ice cloud
layer with optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3. The column flavor considers
all detected cloud layers in each profile, i.e., considering a multiple cloud layer
scenario. The opaque flavor includes profiles with opaque cloud layers only, which
is typically is a bottom layer during which the returned backscattering signal is
totally attenuated.
Table 1: Parameters included for four flavors of the level 3 CALIPSO format
GEWEX cloud product. Letters “a” and “h” mean parameters are reported as average
and histogram, “/” means this parameter is not reported for this flavor.
As imagined, the cloud amount and cloud top of the four flavors can be slightly
different. Figure 1 presents the average cloud amount in each 2D grid cell in July, 2008.
The patterns are the same for the top layer and column flavors. The cloudy coverage and
global cloud amount are slightly larger than those of passive flavor, since profiles
with optically thin ice cloud as the top layer would be considered cloud free in the
passive flavor scenario. Those of opaque flavor are the smallest as all transparent
profiles with surface detected regardless cloudy or not are considered cloud free.
Figure 1: Cloud amount patterns of four flavors in July 2008. The patterns are
plotted as functions of longitude as X axis and latitude as Y axis. The cloud amount
is described as a fraction from 0.0 to 1.0. The estimated global mean is given at
the top right in each panel.
Resolution and Coverage
This L3 cloud product reports monthly aggregation of cloud amount and cloud
top, i.e., in terms of cloud top temperature, pressure and geometric height, at
a 2-dimensional grid structure.
Table 2: The spatial coverage and resolution of L3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial Resolution
360° longitude (180° W to 180° E)
1.0° longitude
180° latitude (90° S to 90° N)
1.0° latitude
Cloud properties are reported at three altitude levels, i.e., high, middle and
low levels, based on cloud top pressure (CP). Table 3 lists the pressure ranges in
hectopascal (hPa) of the three levels.
Other than reporting averages of cloud occurrence and cloud top, the product
also report histograms of selected parameters. Table 4 summarizes the dimensions
of the science data sets which are described as 2-dimensional (2-D) or 3-dimensional
(3-D) arrays depending on their purpose.
Table 4: Number of dimensions and dimension lengths of science data sets of L3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product.
Number of Dimensions
Dimension Lengths
2-D
No. of latitudes bins x No. of longitude bins 180 x 360
3-D
No. of latitude bins x No. of longitude bins x No. of histogram bins
180 x 360 x 10 for cloud occurrence (CA) histogram
180 x 360 x 28 for cloud top temperature (CT) histogram
180 x 360 x 10 for cloud top pressure (CP) histogram
180 x 360 x 40 for cloud top altitude (CZ) histogram
Level 2 Input Data
The version 1.00 of L3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product are processed from
V4.20 level 2 5 km merged layer product. It is produced using the similar
quality filters
as the L3 Cloud Occurrence Product, except three range filters of cloud top temperature
(CT), pressure (CP) and altitude (CZ) have been added to accommodate CT/P/Z ranges
defined for a standard GEWEX product. More details were described in the
Detailed Data Quality Document.
Table 5: Lidar level 3 input data for level 3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product V1.00.
Level 2 Version
Data Date Range
V4.20
June 2006 - December 2016
Due to an elevated frequency of low energy shots within and near the Southern
Atlantic Anomaly region since late May 2017, all level 3 products including this
level 3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product have been stopped processing after
December 2016. The lidar science working group is currently working on understanding
how this issue might affect all levels of CALIPSO product. The level 3 CALIPSO
format GEWEX product will be updated later.
Data Descriptions
In the text below we provide brief descriptions of individual data fields reported
in the CALIPSO Level 3 cloud occurrence product. Where appropriate, we also provide an assessment
of the quality and accuracy of the data in the current release. The data descriptions
are grouped into several major categories, as follows:
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_16
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0...32767
Definition: Number of CALIPSO orbital tracks at each grid cell. One granule
pass would be counted as one orbit track, regardless of the number of profiles.
It corresponds to “n_tot” in a standard format GEWEX file.
The histogram bin boundaries list the midpoint and boundaries of histogram bins
used to bin cloud amount and cloud top temperature, pressure and altitude.
Cloud_Amount_Bin_Midpoint (1-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_64
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Cloud amount at the midpoint of each bin. The number of array size
equals to the number of histogram bins, i.e., 10. It corresponds to “bin”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CA*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Bin_Boundaries (1-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_64
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Cloud amount at bin boundaries. The number of array size, i.e., 11,
is one larger than the number of histogram bins, i.e., 10. It corresponds to
“bin_bounds” in a standard format GEWEX file “CA*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Bin_Midpoint (1-D array)
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: cloud top temperature at the midpoint of each bin. The number of
array size equals to the number of histogram bins, i.e., 28. It corresponds to
“bin” in a standard format GEWEX file “CT*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Bin_Boundaries (1-D array)
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Cloud top temperature at bin boundaries. The number of array size,
i.e., 29, is one larger than the number of histogram bins, i.e., 28. It corresponds
to “bin_bounds” in a standard format GEWEX file “CT*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Bin_Midpoint (1-D array)
Units: hectopascal (hPa)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 100.0...1100.0
Definition: Cloud top pressure at bin boundaries. The number of array size, i.e.,
11, is one larger than the number of histogram bins, i.e., 10. It corresponds to
“bin_bounds” in a standard format GEWEX file “CP*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Altitude_Bin_Midpoint (1-D array)
Units: kilometers (km)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...20.0
Definition: Cloud top altitude at the midpoint of each bin. The number of array size,
equals to the number of histogram bins, i.e., 40. It corresponds to “bin” in a
standard format GEWEX file “CZ*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Altitude_Bin_Boundaries (1-D array)
Units: kilometers (km)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...20.0
Definition: Cloud top altitude at bin boundaries. The number of array size,
i.e., 41, is one larger than the number of histogram bins, i.e., 40. It corresponds
to “bin_bounds” in a standard format GEWEX file “CZ*CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud Amount are estimated for all four flavors and reported as vgroup structures
named Cloud_Amount_ TopLayer, Cloud_Amount_Passive, Cloud_Amount_Column and Cloud_Amount_Opaue,
as shown in Table 6. Each vgroup contains total cloud amount mean and histogram, high/middle/low
cloud amount and ratio, ice/water/high ice cloud amount and ratio.
Table 6: Vgroup structure names of cloud amount of different flavors.
Parameter
TopLayer
Passive
Column
Opaque
CA
CA CAH/M/L CAH/M/L R CAI/W/IH CAI/W/IH R
Cloud_Amount_TopLayer
Cloud_Amount_Passive
Cloud_Amount_Column
Cloud_Amount_Opaque
Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. It corresponds to “a_CA” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CA_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Histogram_TopLayer" (3-D array)
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CA_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of top layer flavor at high-level altitude region
reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses
the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the
high-level altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile
would be considered cloudy at high-level altitude region. It corresponds to
“_CAH” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of top layer flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The top layer
flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is
located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa,
this profile would be considered cloudy at high-level altitude region. It
corresponds to “a_CAHR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAHR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of top layer flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor
chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located
at the middle-level altitude region where the pressure is greater than or equal
to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at
middle-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAM” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CAM_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of top layer flavor at middle-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived
from Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The top
layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud
layer is located at the middle-level altitude region where the pressure is
greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this profile would be
considered cloudy at middle-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAMRÓ
in a standard format GEWEX file “CAMR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of top layer flavor reported at low-level
altitude region within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor
chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located
at the low-level altitude region where the pressure is greater than or equal
to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at low-level altitude
region. It corresponds to “a_CAL” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAL_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of top layer flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The top layer
flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer
is located at the low-level altitude region where the pressure is greater
than or equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at low-level
altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CALR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CALR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAI” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAI_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAIR” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAIR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAW” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAW_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of water cloud amount of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAWR” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAWR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of top layer flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor
chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice
cloud located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is less
than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to
“_CAIH” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAIH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of top layer flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived
from High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer and Cloud_Amount_Mean_TopLayer. The
top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the
cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level altitude region where
the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAIHR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIHR_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. It
corresponds to “a_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CA_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Histogram_Passive (3-D array)
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0... 2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud amount of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. It
corresponds to “h_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CA_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of passive flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor
chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an
ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3,
detected in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the high-level
altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would
be considered cloudy at high-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAHÓ
in a standard format GEWEX file “CAH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Passive (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of passive flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer
or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to
0.3, detected in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the high-level
altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would
be considered cloudy at high-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAHR”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CAHR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of passive flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor
chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an
ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3,
detected in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the middle-level
altitude region where the pressure greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less
than 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at middle-level altitude
region. It corresponds to “a_CAM” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAM_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Passive (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of passive flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer
or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to
0.3, detected in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the middle-level
altitude region where the pressure greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less
than 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at middle-level altitude
region. It corresponds to “a_CAMR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAMR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of passive flavor reported at low-level altitude
region within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the
top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer
with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile.
If the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude region where the pressure
greater than or equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at
low-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAL” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAL_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Passive (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of passive flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The passive flavor
chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice
cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected
in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude region
where the pressure greater than or equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be
considered cloudy at low-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CALR”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CALR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. If the
cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would be considered cloudy. It
corresponds to “a_CAI” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAI_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Percentage_Passive (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. If the
cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would be considered cloudy. It
corresponds to “a_CAIR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud amount of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. If the
cloud layer is a water cloud, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds
to “a_CAW” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAW_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Percentage_Passive (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of water cloud amount of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected in each profile. If the cloud
layer is a water cloud, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to
“_CAWR” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAWR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of passive flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor
chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice
cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, detected
in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level
altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be
considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAIH” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of passive flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived
from High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Passive. The
passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud
layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal
to 0.3, detected in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located
at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa,
this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAIHR” in a
standard format GEWEX file “CAIHR_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of column flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers multiple layer
clouds detected at different altitude regions in each profile. It corresponds
to “a_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file “CA_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Histogram_Column (3-D array)
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud amount of column flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers multiple layer clouds
detected at different altitude regions in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CA”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CA_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Histogram of cloud amount of column flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers
multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each profile. If
a cloud layer is detected at the high-level altitude region where the pressure
is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at high-level altitude
region. It corresponds to “a_CAH” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAH_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of column flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column flavor
considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each
profile. If a cloud layer is detected at the high-level altitude region where
the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy at
high-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAHR” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CAHR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Colomn (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of column flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor
considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each
profile. If a cloud layer is detected at the middle-level altitude region where
the pressure is greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this
profile would be considered cloudy at middle-level altitude region. It corresponds
to “a_CAM” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAM_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of column flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column flavor
considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each
profile. If a cloud layer is detected at the middle-level altitude region where
the pressure is greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this
profile would be considered cloudy at middle-level altitude region. It corresponds
to “a_CAMR” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAMR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of column flavor reported at low-level altitude
region within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers
multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each profile.
If a cloud layer is detected at the low-level altitude region where the pressure
is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy
at low-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CAL” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CAL_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of column flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column flavor
considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in each
profile. If a cloud layer is detected at the low-level altitude region where
the pressure is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered
cloudy at low-level altitude region. It corresponds to “a_CALR” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CALR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of column flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers multiple layer clouds
detected at different altitude regions in each profile. If an ice cloud layer
is detected at any altitude region, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAI” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAI_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of column flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column flavor considers multiple layer clouds
detected at different altitude regions in each profile. If an ice cloud layer
is detected at any altitude region, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAIR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud amount of column flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor considers multiple layer clouds
detected at different altitude regions in each profile. If a water cloud layer
is detected at any altitude region, this profile would be considered cloudy. It
corresponds to “a_CAW” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAW_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of water cloud amount of column flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column flavor considers multiple layer clouds
detected at different altitude regions in each profile. If a water cloud layer
is detected at any altitude region, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAWR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAWR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of column flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The column flavor
considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions in
each profile. If an ice cloud layer is detected at high-level altitude region
where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAI” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIH_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Column (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of column flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Column. The column
flavor considers multiple layer clouds detected at different altitude regions
in each profile. If an ice cloud layer is detected at high-level altitude region
where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAIHR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIHR_COLUMN_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of opaque flavor reported within the latitude/longitude
grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected.
It corresponds to “a_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CA_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Amount_Histogram_Opaque (3-D array)
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud amount of opaque flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses profiles when an opaque
cloud layer is detected. It corresponds to “h_CA” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CA_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of opaque flavor at high-level altitude region
reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses
profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is located
at the high-level altitude where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile
would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAH” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAH_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of opaque layer flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is
derived from High_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. The
opaque flavor chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the
cloud layer is located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is
less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to
“_CAHR” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAHR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of opaque flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor
chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer
is located at the middle-level altitude region where the pressure is greater
than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this profile would be considered
cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAM” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAM_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Middle_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of opaque layer flavor at middle-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived
from Middle_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. The opaque
flavor chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud
layer is located at the middle-level altitude region where the atmosphere pressure
is greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, this profile would be
considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAMR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAMR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of cloud amount of opaque flavor reported at low-level altitude
region within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses profiles
when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is located at the
low-level altitude region where the pressure is greater than or equal to 680 hPa,
this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAL” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CAL_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Low_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of cloud amount of top layer flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from
Low_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. The opaque flavor
chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is
located at the low-level altitude region where the pressure is greater than or
equal to 680 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to
“_CALR” in a standard format GEWEX file “CALR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of opaque flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses profiles when an opaque
cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAI” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAI_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of opaque flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. The opaque flavor chooses profiles when an opaque
cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, this profile would
be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAIR” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CAIR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud amount of opaque flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor chooses profiles when an
opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, this
profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAW” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CAW_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Water_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of water cloud amount of opaque layer flavor reported
within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived from Water_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque
and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, this profile
would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to “a_CAWR” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CAWR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: fraction (NoUnits)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...1.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud amount of opaque flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. The opaque flavor
chooses profiles when an opaque cloud layer is detected. If the cloud layer
is an ice cloud located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure
is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy. It corresponds to
“_CAIH” in a standard format GEWEX file “CAIH_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Ratio_Opaque (2-D array)
Units: percentage (%)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...100.0
Definition: Percentage of ice cloud amount of opaque layer flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell. It is derived
from High_Ice_Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque and Cloud_Amount_Mean_Opaque. If the
cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level altitude region where
the pressure is less than 400 hPa, this profile would be considered cloudy.
It corresponds to “a_CAIHR” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CAIHR_OPAQUE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Science data sets derived from models or data sources other than the CALIPSO
are marked as “external”. The cloud top temperature and pressure is
assumed to the same as the ambient atmosphere temperature and pressure. They
are obtained from the the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation
System.
To keep the cloud top temperature, pressure and altitude ranges as defined by
the GEWEX, a cloud layer with cloud top temperature or pressure or altitude
outside of allowable ranges is neglected and would be considered “Cloud free”.
In the data files, cloud top temperature, pressure and altitude are reported
for top layer and passive flavors only. They are listed as vgroup structures
named Cloud_Top_Temperature_ TopLayer, Cloud_Temperature_Passive, Cloud_Top_Pressure_TopLayer,
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Passive, Cloud_Top_Altitude_TopLayer and Cloud_Top_Altitude_Passive
as shown in Table 7. Cloud top temperature vgroup contains cloud top temperature
average and histogram of all clouds, high/middle/low clouds and ice/water/high ice
clouds. Cloud top pressure/altitude vgroups contains cloud top pressure/altitude
average and histogram of all clouds.
Table 7: Vgroup structure names of cloud top temperature, pressure and
altitude. “/” means this parameter is not reported in this flavor.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in
each profile. It corresponds to “a_CT” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CT_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CT” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CT_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the high-level altitude
region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTH” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the high-level altitude
region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTH” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at middle-level altitude region
reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each profile.
If the cloud layer is located at the middle-level altitude region where the pressure is greater
than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be included in
the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTM” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CTM_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the middle-level altitude
region where the pressure is greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, the
cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTM”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CTM_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported at low-level
altitude region within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude
region where the pressure is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature
would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTL” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTL_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude
region where the pressure is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature
would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTL” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTL_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in each
profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, the cloud top temperature would be included
in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTI” in a standard format GEWEX
file “CTI_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of ice cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported
within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in
each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTI” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTI_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in
each profile. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, the cloud top temperature would
be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTW” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTW_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...32767
Definition: Histogram of water cloud top temperature of top layer flavor reported
within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer only in
each profile. If the cloud layer is a water cloud, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTW” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTW_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO
project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level
altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would
be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTIH” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTIH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of ice cloud top temperature of top layer flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the
Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product provided
to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses
the top cloud layer only in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located at
the high-level altitude region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top
temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTIH”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CTIH_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if
the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical
depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. It corresponds to “a_CT”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CT_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud
layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3,
in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CT” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CT_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at high-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the
CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the
top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with
the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud
layer is located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is less than
400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to
“a_CTH” in a standard format GEWEX file “CTH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the
Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product provided
to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor
chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud
layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If
the cloud layer is located at the high-level altitude region where the pressure is
less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It
orresponds to “h_CTH” in a standard format GEWEX file “CTH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at middle-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the
CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the
top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with
the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud
layer is located at the middle-level altitude region where the pressure is greater
than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTM” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTM_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_16
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at low-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from
the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product
provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or
an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in
each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the middle-level altitude region
where the pressure is greater than or equal to 400 hPa and less than 680 hPa, the
cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to
“h_CTM” in a standard format GEWEX file “CTM_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at low-level altitude
region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the
CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses
the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer
with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If
the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude region where the pressure
is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be included
in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTL” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CTL_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top temperature of passive flavor at low-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from
the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product
provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an
ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in
each profile. If the cloud layer is located at the low-level altitude region
where the pressure is greater than or equal to 680 hPa, the cloud top temperature
would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTL” in a
standard format GEWEX file “CTL_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the
top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth
greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud,
the cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to
“a_CTI” in a standard format GEWEX file “CTI_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of ice cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top
layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater
than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud, the cloud
top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTI”
in a standard format GEWEX file “CTI_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of water cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if
the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer optical
depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud layer is a water
cloud, the cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics. It corresponds
to “a_CTW” in a standard format GEWEX file “CTW_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_16
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...32767
Definition: Histogram of water cloud top temperature of passive flavor reported
within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by
the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud
layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the
layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. If the cloud
layer is a water cloud, the cloud top temperature would be included in the statistics.
It corresponds to “h_CTW” in a standard format GEWEX file
“CTW_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: kelvin (K)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 150.0...320.0
Definition: Mean of ice cloud top temperature of passive flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from
the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product
provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or
an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in
each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level altitude
region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would be
included in the statistics. It corresponds to “a_CTIH” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTIH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of ice cloud top temperature of passive flavor at high-level
altitude region reported within the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from
the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis product
provided to the CALIPSO project by the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive
flavor chooses the top cloud layer, if the top layer is a water cloud layer or
an ice cloud layer with the layer optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in
each profile. If the cloud layer is an ice cloud located at the high-level altitude
region where the pressure is less than 400 hPa, the cloud top temperature would
be included in the statistics. It corresponds to “h_CTIH” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CTIH_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: hectopascal (hPa)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 100.0...1100.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top pressure of top layer flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. It corresponds to “a_CP” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CP_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top pressure of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud layer
only in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CP” in a standard format
GEWEX file “CP_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: hectopascal (hPa)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 100.0...1100.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top pressure of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by
the GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. It corresponds
to “a_CP” in a standard format GEWEX file “CP_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top pressure of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2)
reanalysis product provided to the CALIPSO project by the
GMAO Data Assimilation System. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. It corresponds to
“h_CP” in a standard format GEWEX file “CP_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Altitude_Mean_TopLayer (2-D array)
Units: kilometer (km)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...20.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top altitude of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. It corresponds to “a_CZ” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CZ_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top altitude of top layer flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. The top layer flavor chooses the top cloud
layer only in each profile. It corresponds to “h_CZ” in a standard
format GEWEX file “CZ_TOP_LAYER_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Cloud_Top_Altitude_Mean_Passive (2-D array)
Units: kilometer (km)
Format: Float_32
Fill Value: -9999.0000
Valid Range: 0.0...20.0
Definition: Mean of cloud top altitude of passive flavor reported within the
latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. It corresponds to
“a_CZ” in a standard format GEWEX file “CZ_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: count (NoUnits)
Format: Int_32
Fill Value: -9999
Valid Range: 0...2147483647
Definition: Histogram of cloud top altitude of passive flavor reported within
the latitude/longitude grid cell. The passive flavor chooses the top cloud layer,
if the top layer is a water cloud layer or an ice cloud layer with the layer
optical depth greater than or equal to 0.3, in each profile. It corresponds
to “h_CZ” in a standard format GEWEX file “CZ_PASSIVE_CALIPSO-ST*.nc”.
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: CAL_LID_L3_GEWEX_Cloud
Definition: An 80-byte maximum character string specifying the data product name.
Date_Time_of_Production
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: 4/2006 - present
Definition: A 27-byte character string that defines the date at granule production.
The format is yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ.
Day_Night_Flag
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: N/A
Definition: A 2-byte character string that indicating the lighting conditions
at an altitude of about 24 km above mean sea level. It is one of the following
characters, D, N and A which representing daytime, nighttime and all time.
Nominal_Year_Month
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: 200606 - present
Definition: A six-digit integer indicating the year and month when data within
the level 3 file was measured by CALIPSO in the format yyyymm.
Program_Configuration
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: N/A
Definition: This parameter contains the contents of the runtime program
configuration file. The file controls the sizes of dimensions used by the program,
the cloud quality filter parameters, and an input file check.
Number_of_Level2_Files_Analyzed
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: UInt_16
Valid Range: 0...900
Definition: Number of level 2 granules analyzed to generate this level 3 ice cloud file.
List_of_Input_Files
Units: no unit (NoUnits)
Format: Char
Valid Range: N/A
Definition: List of included granules of level 2 5 km merged layer product to
generate this level 3 CALIPSO format GEWEX cloud product file.
Last Updated: December 06, 2024
Curator: Charles R. Trepte
NASA Official: Charles R. Trepte
