Cloud Type Classification Product Released for MOSAiC, TRACER, and SAIL Campaigns

Published: 25 April 2024

Time-height displays show reflectivity (top) and cloud types (bottom) on June 26, 2022, during the SAIL campaign. The cloud type legend indicates cirrus, cirrostratus, altostratus, altocumulus, deep conv, congestus, and low clouds. — Time-height displays show reflectivity (top) and cloud types (bottom) on June 26, 2022, during the SAIL campaign. Plots are created by the Cloud Type Classification (CLDTYPE) value-added product quicklook code.

The Cloud Type Classification value-added product (CLDTYPE VAP) is now available for the following three field campaigns:

the 2019–2020 Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in the central Arctic
the 2021–2022 TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) near Houston, Texas
the 2021–2023 Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign near Crested Butte, Colorado.

CLDTYPE provides an automated cloud type classification based on macrophysical quantities derived from vertically pointing lidar and radar at Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility sites. Up to 10 cloud layers are classified into seven cloud types based on predetermined and site-specific thresholds of cloud top height, cloud base height, and thickness.

More information about CLDTYPE can be found on the VAP web page.

Scientists can access the MOSAIC, TRACER, and SAIL CLDTYPE data in the ARM Data Center. (To download the data, first create an ARM account.)

For questions about the VAP, please contact ARM translator Damao Zhang or developer Krista Gaustad.

To cite the CLDTYPE data, please use doi:10.5439/1349884.

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ARM is a DOE Office of Science user facility operated by nine DOE national laboratories.