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CALIPSO Lidar Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Profiles, Cloudy Sky Transparent Data, Standard V4-20

Published by NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Catalog Last Checked: June 23, 2026 at 09:10 PM | Dataset Last Updated: June 22, 2026
CAL_LID_L3_Tropospheric_APro_CloudySkyTransparent-Standard-V4-20 is the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Lidar Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Profiles, Cloudy Sky Transparent Data, Standard Version 4-20 data product. Data is collected using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument. Data generation and distribution of this V4.20 product ended on July 1, 2020, to support a change in the operating system of the CALIPSO production clusters. The V4.21 data product covers July 1, 2020, to current. The CALIPSO lidar level 3 aerosol data product reports monthly mean profiles of aerosol optical properties on a uniform spatial grid. It is intended to be a tropospheric product, so data are only reported below altitudes of 12 km. All level 3 parameters are derived from the version 4.20 CALIOP level 2 aerosol profile product and have been quality screened before averaging. The primary quantities reported are vertical profiles of the aerosol extinction coefficient at 532 nm and its vertical integral, the aerosol optical depth (AOD). Aerosol type and spatial distribution information are also included. Averaged profile data is reported for all aerosols, regardless of type, and for mineral dust aerosols only. Classification of dust is based on the aerosol-type flags in the level 2 profile product. To keep level 3 file sizes manageable, there are four different types of level 3 files produced, depending on the sky condition and the temporal coverage of the data before averaging: Description of the Four Sky Conditions (Day, 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, and 4) Cloud-Sky, Opaque: Only level 2 columns containing opaque clouds are averaged 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 formation with five other satellites in the international "A-Train" (PDF) constellation for coincident Earth observations. The CALIPSO satellite comprises three instruments: the 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 (Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales).

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Complete Metadata
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description CAL_LID_L3_Tropospheric_APro_CloudySkyTransparent-Standard-V4-20 is the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Lidar Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Profiles, Cloudy Sky Transparent Data, Standard Version 4-20 data product. Data is collected using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument. Data generation and distribution of this V4.20 product ended on July 1, 2020, to support a change in the operating system of the CALIPSO production clusters. The V4.21 data product covers July 1, 2020, to current. The CALIPSO lidar level 3 aerosol data product reports monthly mean profiles of aerosol optical properties on a uniform spatial grid. It is intended to be a tropospheric product, so data are only reported below altitudes of 12 km. All level 3 parameters are derived from the version 4.20 CALIOP level 2 aerosol profile product and have been quality screened before averaging. The primary quantities reported are vertical profiles of the aerosol extinction coefficient at 532 nm and its vertical integral, the aerosol optical depth (AOD). Aerosol type and spatial distribution information are also included. Averaged profile data is reported for all aerosols, regardless of type, and for mineral dust aerosols only. Classification of dust is based on the aerosol-type flags in the level 2 profile product. To keep level 3 file sizes manageable, there are four different types of level 3 files produced, depending on the sky condition and the temporal coverage of the data before averaging: Description of the Four Sky Conditions (Day, 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, and 4) Cloud-Sky, Opaque: Only level 2 columns containing opaque clouds are averaged 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 formation with five other satellites in the international "A-Train" (PDF) constellation for coincident Earth observations. The CALIPSO satellite comprises three instruments: the 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 (Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales).
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identifier 10.5067/CALIOP/CALIPSO/LID_L3_TROPOSPHERIC_APRO_CLOUDYSKYTRANSPARENT-STANDARD-V4-20
keyword 
[
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere-aerosol-extinction",
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere-aerosol-optical-depth-thickness"
]
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-22
programCode 
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]
publisher 
{
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spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"Boundary": {"Points": [{"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}]}}]], Minimum Altitude, Maximum Altitude, -0.41 km, 12.1 km
temporal 2006-06-01/2020-08-01
theme 
[
  "Earth Science"
]
title CALIPSO Lidar Level 3 Tropospheric Aerosol Profiles, Cloudy Sky Transparent Data, Standard V4-20

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