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Full catalog/MAC06S0
MAC06S0·v002·dataset

Cloud details along the CloudSat track (Aqua)

MODIS/Aqua Clouds 1km and 5km 5-Min L2 Narrow Swath Subset along CloudSat V002 (MAC06S0) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed cloud properties, such as cloud top height and temperature, cloud phase (ice versus water), thickness, and droplet size, captured in a narrow strip lined up with the CloudSat satellite's path.

How it's made. A trimmed subset of the standard MODIS/Aqua cloud product, keeping only the roughly 10-15 km wide swath that runs alongside the CloudSat track, derived from infrared, visible, and near-infrared light.

How & where you'd use it. Built for studies that combine MODIS cloud observations with CloudSat's radar view of the same clouds, giving a richer, matched picture of cloud structure.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FREQUENCYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER › CLOUD EMISSIVITYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD LIQUID WATER/ICEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER › CLOUD REFLECTANCEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP PRESSUREATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2006-06-02 → 2018-02-28
  • Measured byAqua (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

This is the narrow-swath MODIS/Aqua subset along CloudSat field of view track. The goal of the narrow-swath subset is to select and return MODIS data that are within +-5 km across the CloudSat track. I.e. the resultant MODIS subset swath is sought to be about 10 km cross-track. However, the original MYD06_L2 has data of 5- and 1-km pixels. Thus, MAC06S0 cross-track width is 3- and 11-pixels, depending on the parameter, and the resultant swath is about 15- and 10-km, correspondingly. Along-track, all MODIS pixels from the original product are preserved. In the standard product, the level-2 MODIS cloud product consists of cloud optical and physical parameters. These parameters are derived using remotely sensed infrared, visible and near infrared solar reflected radiances. MODIS infrared channel radiances are used to derive cloud top temperature, cloud top height, effective emissivity, cloud phase (ice vs. water, opaque vs. non-opaque), and cloud fraction under both daytime and nighttime conditions. MODIS visible radiances are used to derive cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius and cloud shadow effects. Near infrared solar reflected radiance provides additional information in the retrieval of cloud particle phase (ice vs. water, clouds vs. snow). The shortname for this level-2 MODIS cloud product is MAC06S0. YD06_L2 and the principal investigators for this product are MODIS scientists Dr. Bo-Cai Gao (gao@rsd.nrl.navy.mil) for cirrus cloud detection; Dr. Paul Menzel (paulm@ssec.wisc.edu) for cloud top properties; and Dr. Michael King(king@climate.gsfc.nasa.gov) for cloud optical properties. (The shortname for this product is MAC06S0).

Get the data

mac06s0_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MAC06S0",
    version="002",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.