This paper documents the development of the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of clouds, aerosols, and
radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)
and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite
Observations (CALIPSO), and CloudSat. As part of this effort, cloud data from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat
radar are merged with the integrated column cloud properties from the CERES-MODIS analyses. The active and
passive datasets are compared to determine commonalities and differences in order to facilitate the development of a
3-dimensional cloud and aerosol dataset that will then be integrated into the CERES broadband radiance footprint.
Preliminary results from the comparisons for April 2007 reveal that the CERES-MODIS global cloud amounts are, on
average, 0.14 less and 0.15 greater than those from CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively. These new data will provide
unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect
radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions
and for multi-layered cloud conditions.
KEYWORDS: Data processing, Satellites, Control systems, Software development, Data storage, Sensors, Algorithm development, MODIS, Clouds, Data conversion
Ground-based satellite data processing is a major undertaking for any organization or research group. The costs of hardware required to do the processing is declining, but the software development costs are increasing due to the increasing complexity of the satellite sensor data and the increasing demand for on-line data access by the user community. The CloudSat mission has developed a ground data processing center software system, APAPT, that can be used as a generic template for other satellite missions and promises to minimize the software development costs associated with these data processing activities.
The ADAPT system includes a web-based software interface management system called the Algorithm Interface Management System (AIMS), the CloudSat Operational and Research Environment (CORE) which uses off-the-shelf PC technology to process all of the CloudSat mission data and includes a module which maps ancillary sensor data to the CloudSat geolocation data, a web-based data distribution system, an automated DVD data storage and logging system, and a comprehensive web-based Operator Control and Monitoring interface for overall system management.
The presentation will focus on how the ADAPT end-to-end system can easily tailored to other satellite sensor missions to provide a low-cost and robust solution for science data processing requirements.
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