Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Cloud Properties from AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x), Version 5.3 (Version Superseded)

Published by National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 06:38 AM | Dataset Last Updated: July 03, 2014 at 12:00 AM
*Note: This dataset version has been superseded by a newer version. It is highly recommended that users access the current version. Users should only use this version for special cases, such as reproducing studies that used this version.* This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of cloud products was produced by the University of Wisconsin using the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-X) Version 5.3 processing system. The CDR spans from 1979 to the present with daily, global coverage generated from between two and ten NOAA and MetOp satellite passes per day. The source AVHRR data points, with a sensor resolution of 1.09 km near nadir, have been fitted to a 0.1 x 0.1 degree equal-angle grid in ascending and descending files. The four fundamental cloud variables in the CDR include: 1) Cloud Optical Thickness; 2) Cloud Particle Size; 3) Cloud Temperature; and 4) Cloud Emissivity. These cloud products are derived using the ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) Cloud Height Algorithm (ACHA) and the Daytime Cloud Optical Properties (DCOMP) algorithm. Other variables in this dataset were derived from the four primary variables, or generated through error/quality control assessment in the algorithms. Not counting the coordinate variables, there are 48 data and ancillary data variables in the netCDF data file to facilitate proper data usage. The file format was converted from HDF to netCDF-4 with metadata following the Climate and Forecast (CF) Conventions and Attribute Convention for Dataset Discovery (ACDD). The dataset is accompanied by algorithm documentation, data flow diagram and source code for the NOAA CDR Program.

Resources

9 resources available

  • NCEI landing page for this dataset

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • NOAA CDR page

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • CIMSS PATMOS-x project page

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • Contact NCEI

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • NCEI Dataset Landing Page for the Current Version

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • NCEI landing page for AVHRR Reflectance - PATMOS-x

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • NOAA Environmental Data Management Wiki: MD Keywords

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • CDR Program Contacts

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Height Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Fraction Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Microphysics > Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Radiative Transfer > Cloud Emissivity Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Pressure Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Temperature Satellite Geographic Region > Global

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:avhrr_patmosx_contacts@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description *Note: This dataset version has been superseded by a newer version. It is highly recommended that users access the current version. Users should only use this version for special cases, such as reproducing studies that used this version.* This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of cloud products was produced by the University of Wisconsin using the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-X) Version 5.3 processing system. The CDR spans from 1979 to the present with daily, global coverage generated from between two and ten NOAA and MetOp satellite passes per day. The source AVHRR data points, with a sensor resolution of 1.09 km near nadir, have been fitted to a 0.1 x 0.1 degree equal-angle grid in ascending and descending files. The four fundamental cloud variables in the CDR include: 1) Cloud Optical Thickness; 2) Cloud Particle Size; 3) Cloud Temperature; and 4) Cloud Emissivity. These cloud products are derived using the ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) Cloud Height Algorithm (ACHA) and the Daytime Cloud Optical Properties (DCOMP) algorithm. Other variables in this dataset were derived from the four primary variables, or generated through error/quality control assessment in the algorithms. Not counting the coordinate variables, there are 48 data and ancillary data variables in the netCDF data file to facilitate proper data usage. The file format was converted from HDF to netCDF-4 with metadata following the Climate and Forecast (CF) Conventions and Attribute Convention for Dataset Discovery (ACDD). The dataset is accompanied by algorithm documentation, data flow diagram and source code for the NOAA CDR Program.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI landing page for this dataset",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.7289/V5348HCK",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Dataset landing page with general information and access links for the dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA CDR page",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/climate-data-records/avhrr-hirs-cloud-properties-patmos",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Access to the published CDR product, documentation and source code.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "CIMSS PATMOS-x project page",
    "accessURL": "https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/patmosx/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Project page with dataset information.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Contact NCEI",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "This dataset is not available online. Please contact NCEI to request the dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Dataset Landing Page for the Current Version",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.7289/V5X9287S",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Landing page for the Current Version.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI landing page for AVHRR Reflectance - PATMOS-x",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.7289/V56W982J",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Related dataset landing page.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords",
    "accessURL": "https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/gcmd/global-change-master-directory-gcmd-keywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA Environmental Data Management Wiki: MD Keywords",
    "accessURL": "https://geo-ide.noaa.gov/wiki/index.php?title=MD_Keywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Instructions and examples for ISO keywords.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "CDR Program Contacts",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdr",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Contact information for the CDR Program.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  }
]
identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/aim/iso/xml/C00840.xml
issued 2014-07-03T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Height",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Fraction",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Microphysics > Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Radiative Transfer > Cloud Emissivity",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Pressure",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Top Temperature",
  "Satellite",
  "Geographic Region > Global",
  "NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) Program",
  "NOAA OneStop Project",
  "AVHRR > Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer",
  "AVHRR-2 > Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-2",
  "AVHRR-3 > Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3",
  "NOAA-6 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-6",
  "NOAA-7 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-7",
  "NOAA-8 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-8",
  "NOAA-9 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-9",
  "NOAA-10 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-10",
  "NOAA-11 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-11",
  "NOAA-12 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-12",
  "NOAA-14 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-14",
  "NOAA-15 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-15",
  "NOAA-16 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-16",
  "NOAA-17 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-17",
  "NOAA-18 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-18",
  "NOAA-19 > National Oceanic > Atmospheric Administration-19",
  "MetOp-A > Meteorological Operational Satellite - A",
  "TIROS-N > Television Infrared Observation Satellite-N",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "UWI-MAD/SSEC > Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison"
]
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2014-07-03T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
[
  "https://doi.org/10.7289/V5X9287S",
  "https://doi.org/10.7289/V56W982J"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial 180.0,-90.0,-180.0,90.0
temporal 1979-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Cloud Properties from AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres - Extended (PATMOS-x), Version 5.3 (Version Superseded)

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov