CIPS Overview Information
The CIPS instrument [McClintock et al., 2009] consists of four wide-angle cameras that measure 265-nm radiation scattered by the atmosphere over a wide range of scattering angles. The fundamental measurement is an albedo, which is the measured radiance divided by the input solar irradiance. On each orbit, around 27 images are acquired with each camera over the summer pole, between the terminator and about 40 degrees latitude on the sunlit side, with overlapping successive images.
The CIPS data products are listed below; more details can be found in documentation specific to the individual levels (see the highlighted text).CIPS data for levels 2, 3, and 4 are currently available online. It is anticipated that users interested mainly in a qualitative picture of where/when CIPS observed PMCs will be most interested in level 3 data. Users interested in quantitative mapping of the PMCs will be most interested in level 2 data, and users interested in cloud parameters (frequency, albedo, radius, ice water content) will be most interested in level 4 data.
Data Products:
See the tabs for data documentation, summary files, and download information.
Reference: McClintock, W.E., et al., The cloud imaging and particle size experiment on the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere mission: Instrument concept, design, calibration, and on-orbit performance, doi: 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.10.011, 2009.
For questions or comments, please contact Cora Randall (randall at lasp.colorado.edu).
Level 0
Level 0: Raw, uncalibrated images. Images are binned on-chip to 170 x 340 pixels (cross track by along track) for each camera. Effective spatial resolution varies from around 2.4 km x 2 km (nadir) to around 4.5 km x 3 km (forward & aft cameras).
This product is currently unavailable to the public.
Level 1 Data and Summary
Calibrated and geolocated albedo. NetCDF files contain all images from a single camera over one orbit, so there are 4 files per orbit (one per camera).
Documentation -->
Level 1b: Map-projected albedo calculated from level 1a at 5 km x 5 km resolution. One NetCDF file per orbit. These files register all measurements of a single location into data "stacks" to facilitate analysis of phase functions (albedo vs. scattering angle).
Level 1c: Same as level 1b, but with the Rayleigh scattering background subtracted. One NetCDF file per orbit.
Level 2 Data and Summary
PMC albedo over a single orbit, calculated by merging overlapping images from level 1c. Cloud albedo is normalized to 90 degree scattering angle and nadir view. One NetCDF file per orbit; 5 x 5 km resolution.
CIPS Level 2: Orbit Strips
Documentation -->
PMC albedo over a single orbit, calculated by merging overlapping images from level 1C. Cloud albedo is normalized to 90 degree scattering angle and nadir view. One NetCDF file per orbit; 5 x 5 km resolution.
Level 2 Data is available from http://aim.hamptonu.edu/sds/
To access more than a month's worth of data, please contact aimsds@lasp.colorado.edu with details of your needs. |
Level 4 Data and Summary
CIPS Level 4: Cloud Properties
Level 4 data consists of cloud presence retrievals, albedo, ice water content and particle radius. For convenience, this data is available in multiple formats:
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15 km x 15 km resolution orbit strips. One netCDF file per orbit. This data is available at
http://aim.hamptonu.edu/sds/. To access more than a month's worth of these netCDF files, please contact aimsds@lasp.colorado.edu with details of your needs.
File reading tools and additional documentation can be downloaded by clicking the links below:
Documentation -->
CIPS Tools -->
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Level 4 Season Summary Files. These are ASCII text files that contain the primary CIPS level 4 retrieval products and associated auxiliary data for each orbit over an entire PMC season. Data are binned in 5-degree latitude bins. There are nine files for each season: Results are provided for three different cloud detection thresholds (10-6 sr-1, 5x10-6 sr-1 and 10-5 sr-1); for each threshold, separate files are provided that include (1) only cloud measurements, (2) only non-cloud measurements, (3) all measurements. Additional documentation, an IDL read tool, and the summary files themselves can be downloaded.
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Common Volume (CV) Season Files. These are ASCII text files that contain the primary CIPS level 4 retrieval products and associated auxiliary data in the CV for each orbit over an entire PMC season. Data are given for each individual pixel within the CV. Additional documentation, an IDL read tool, and the data files can be downloaded by clicking the links below:
