NOAA JPSS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Daytime Cloud Optical and Microphysical Properties (DCOMP) from NDE

This data set contains a high quality Environmental Data Record (EDR) of daytime cloud optical and microphysical properties (DCOMP) from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument onboard the Suomi-NPP satellite and is produced by the NOAA Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). The EDR contains Cloud Optical Depth (COD), Cloud effective Particle Size (CPS), and Liquid and Ice Water Path (LWP & IWP). COD and CPS are retrieved simultaneously from observations in one visible and one near-infrared channel. The main information content for COD lies in the conservative scattering channel at about 0.6 micrometer. The absorption channel at 2.2 micrometer provides additional information on CPS and helps indirectly to estimate COD by adjusting the difference in the phase function due to particle size. Liquid and ice water path are calculated subsequently from COD and CPS. The EDR provides global coverage daily at a spatial resolution of 750 meters at nadir. VIIRS DCOMP data distributed by the NESDIS Data Exploitation (NDE) system and obtained from the Comprehensive Large-Array Stewardship System (CLASS) are distributed as single 86-second granules in NetCDF-4 format with metadata attributes included.