Summary

Description

This dataset consists of Cloud-Cleared Radiances (CCRs) from the NOAA-Unique CrIS-ATMS Processing System (NUCAPS). NUCAPS was developed by the NOAA/NESDIS Center for Satellite Application and Research (STAR) and is produced operationally at the NOAA/NESDIS Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO). Cloud clearing is the process of computing the clear column radiance for each Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) channel. The CrIS sensor onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite is a Fourier transform spectrometer with a total of 1,305 spectral channels covering the longwave IR (9.14 - 15.38 um), midwave IR (5.71 - 8.26 um) and shortwave IR (3.92 - 4.64 um) wavelengths. CrIS scans at a 2200 km swath width, with each scan containing 30 Fields of Regard (FORs) viewed on the Earth's surface. Each FOR contains 9 Fields of View (FOVs) simultaneously measured as a 3 x 3 array. The circular FOVs have a diameter of 14 km at nadir. NUCAPS produces CCRs from the CrIS FORs that are co-located with the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) also onboard the S-NPP satellite. The full spectrum CCRs are produced along with the standard NUCAPS Environmental Data Record (EDR) products, as the radiances are used to retrieve the EDR products. Each product file encompasses one 32-second granule of data, corresponding to 4 scan lines of CrIS/ATMS data. The products are distributed in netCDF-4 file format with metadata attributes included.