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    Start Here

Current Epoch: Epoch 10

Start: 16 Dec 2021 (Day 350) 14:27:41 | End: Present

Active Release: R05

R04 products will be available until all R05 products have been released.

CloudSat Epoch Information

Epoch 10

After a second reaction wheel anomaly on 26 August 2020 CloudSat returned to operation in December of 2021 in ACT-TWO (Attitude Control Through Two Wheel Operations) DO-Op (Daylight-Only Operations) mode, no longer in formation with CALIPSO.

Start: 16 Dec 2021 (Day 350) 14:27:41
End: 19 September 2023 (Day 262) 15:26:30

Epoch 09

Starting on July 5th, 2019 and continuing through August 26th, 2020, the apparent height of the surface in the radar profiles is not consistent with the Digital Elevation Map (DEM) that has been used with all CloudSat operational products throughout the mission. The mismatch is a result of an error in the satellite pointing or timing data or both. While still under investigation, the present the cause has not been isolated. Rather than further delaying the release of these data, they are being released as-is with the pointing/timing error. Fundamentally, this means there is a substantially larger uncertainty in the location where the radar beam intersects the surface that may be as large as 10 km.

Start: 11 Jul 2019 (Day 192) 00:00:00
End: 26 Aug 2020 (Day 239) 19:25:23

Epoch 08

CloudSat is joined by CALIPSO, forming the C-Train.

Start: 10 Oct 2018 (Day 283) 00:00:00
End: 10 Jul 2019 (Day 191) 23:59:59

Epoch 07

CloudSat exited the A-Train on February 22nd, 2018 after a reaction wheel anomaly.

Start: 3 May 2018 (Day 123) 07:25:00
End: End: 10 Oct 2018 (Day 283) 00:00:00

Epoch 06

Although CloudSat continues to only operate during the sunlit portion of the orbit, epoch 06 started when CloudSat returned to the A-Train formation on May 15th, 2012. Data products once again use MODIS and CALIPSO ancillary data although the overlap with CALIPSO is degraded because fewer formation flying maneuvers are performed.

Start: 15 May 2012 (Day 136) 00:49:00
End: 12 Jan 2018 (Day 12) 15:15:56

Epoch 05

A battery anomaly on April 17th, 2011 caused the spacecraft to stop collecting data and lose formation with the A-Train. The radar was turned back on in November 2011 and now collects data only during the sunlit portion of the orbit. Epoch 05 represents this new operating paradigm. In addition, the spacecraft remained outside of the A-Train formation so all data products were processed in radar-only mode without MODIS or CALIPSO data. The impact of the missing MODIS data on the CloudSat products is still being assessed and the combined radar/lidar products (2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR, 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR, and 2B-FLXHR-LIDAR) are not available.

Start: 27 Oct 2011 (Day 300) 23:28:21
End: 15 May 2012 (Day 136) 00:49:00

Epoch 04

Marks the beginning of a period where the CPR pulse rate will be periodically reduced, or increased, to manage the power draw on the battery (due to the reduced power margin as the battery ages). The increased or reduced pulsing with induce a slight change in sensitivity. The number of pulses can be found in the 1B-CPR field RayStatus_pulsesTx. The pulse rate will likely continue to be adjusted, seasonally, for the duration of the mission.

Start: 15 Feb 2011 (Day 46) 18:06:30
End: 17 Apr 2011 (Day 107) 18:17:31

Epoch 03

Epoch 02 ended when a battery anomaly forced the CPR offline. It was brought back into operations with a slightly reduced pulse rate that decreases the radar sensitivity by approximately 0.25 dB. Epoch 03 tags the modified operating parameters.

Start: 15 Jan 2010 (Day 15) 18:24:56
End: 15 Feb 2011 (Day 46) 18:06:30

Epoch 02

Increased specular reflection due to the nadir-pointing instrument caused an increase in ground clutter, so the spacecraft orientation was changed again so that the CPR pointed 0.16 degrees in the forward (along-track) direction.

Start: 15 Aug 2006 (Day 227) 20:56:31
End: 7 Dec 2009 (Day 341) 11:43:22

Epoch 01

The pointing error was corrected and the spacecraft was oriented so that the CPR pointed to nadir.

Start: 7 Jul 2006 (Day 188) 14:14:02
End: 15 Aug 2006 (Day 227) 20:56:31

Epoch 00

During the initial phase of the mission it was unknown that the CPR was pointing off-nadir 1.7021 degrees in the forward (along-track) direction and 0.1314 degress to the right (across-track).

Start: 2 Jun 2006 (Day 153) 13:42:23
End: 7 Jul 2006 (Day 188) 14:14:02

MOD06-5KM-AUX

Product Availability: Available during A-Train Epochs except for anomalies and maneuver data gaps

The MOD06-1KM-AUX and MOD06-5KM-AUX data sets are intermediate products that contain a subset of ancillary MODIS cloud properties that are collocated with each CloudSat cloud profiling radar (CPR) footprint. Input data are obtained from the 1B- CPR and AN-MODIS products, and the MOD06-AUX data are used as input to the 2B- CWC-RVOD algorithm in the CloudSat data processing system. The Process Description and Interface Control Document (PDICD) describes the input product specifications, the subset process, and the format of the MOD06-1KM- AUX and MOD06-5KM-AUX products.

Primary Publication(s)

No publications found.

  • MOD06-5KM-AUX P2_R05 (Current)

Process Description and Interface Control Document (PDICD)

MOD06-AUX P1_R05 PDICD (Rev. 0) (Updated April 14, 2018)

Algorithm Specifications (for latest R05)

Geolocation Fields

Field Type Dimensions Units Valid Range Missing Missing Op. Factor Offset
MODIS_latitude FLOAT32 nray,mod_1km [-90.0, 90.0] -999.0 eq
MODIS_longitude FLOAT32 nray,mod_1km [-180.0, 180.0] -999.0 eq
Profile_time FLOAT32 nray seconds [0.0, 6000.0] 1.0 0.0
UTC_start FLOAT32 scalar seconds [0.0, 86400.0] 1.0 0.0
TAI_start FLOAT64 scalar seconds [0.0, 600000000.0] 1.0 0.0

Data Fields

Field Type Dimensions Units Valid Range Missing Missing Op. Factor Offset
MODIS_granule_index INT8 nray,mod_1km [1, 25] -99 ==
MODIS_pixel_index_along_track INT16 nray,mod_1km [1, 2030] -999 ==
MODIS_pixel_index_across_track INT16 nray,mod_1km [1, 1354] -999 ==
Band_Number INT32 nbands,granules [0, 100] -9 le
Scan_Start_Time FLOAT64 nray,mod_1km [0.0, 3155800064.0] -999.9000244140625 eq
Scan_Start_Time_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Scan_Start_Time_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Zenith_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Zenith_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Zenith_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Zenith_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Azimuth_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Solar_Azimuth_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Zenith_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Zenith_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [-18000.0, 18000] -32768 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Sensor_Azimuth_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Brightness_Temperature INT16 nbands,nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Brightness_Temperature_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Brightness_Temperature_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Surface_Temperature INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Surface_Temperature_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Surface_Temperature_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Surface_Pressure INT16 nray,mod_1km [8000, 11000] -32768 eq
Surface_Pressure_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Surface_Pressure_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Height_Method INT8 nray,mod_1km [1, 6] 127 eq
Cloud_Height_Method_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Height_Method_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32767 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32767 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32767 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 18000] -32767 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Height_Nadir_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Nadir_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Night INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Day INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Temperature_Nadir_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Tropopause_Height INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Tropopause_Height_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Tropopause_Height_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Night INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Night INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Day INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Day INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Fraction_Nadir_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Night INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Night INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Day INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Day INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 100] 127 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Effective_Emissivity_Nadir_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Infrared INT16 nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Infrared_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_Infrared_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Spectral_Cloud_Forcing INT16 bands,nray,mod_1km [-2000.0, 2000] -32768 eq
Spectral_Cloud_Forcing_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Spectral_Cloud_Forcing_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_From_Ratios INT16 band_ratios,nray,mod_1km [10, 11000] -32768 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_From_Ratios_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Top_Pressure_From_Ratios_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Radiance_Variance INT16 nray,mod_1km [0, 20] -32768 eq
Radiance_Variance_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Radiance_Variance_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 6] 127 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Night INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 6] 127 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Night_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Night_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Day INT8 nray,mod_1km [0, 6] 127 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Day_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Phase_Infrared_Day_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Mask_5km INT8 cm_byte,nray,mod_1km [-128.0, 127] 0 eq
Cloud_Mask_5km_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Cloud_Mask_5km_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Quality_Assurance_5km INT8 qa_5k_byte,nray,mod_1km [-128.0, 127] 0 eq
Quality_Assurance_5km_add_offset FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq
Quality_Assurance_5km_scale_factor FLOAT64 scalar -999.0 eq

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