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sbuceilimpacts·v1·dataset

Cloud base height from ground lasers (winter storms study)

SBU Ceilometers IMPACTS
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 2 netCDF-3netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. The height of cloud bases overhead, measured from the ground.

How it's made. Collected by ground-based ceilometers (instruments that shine a laser upward to find clouds) run by Stony Brook University during the IMPACTS winter-storm campaign.

How & where you'd use it. Was gathered to study snowstorms and improve understanding and forecasting of snowfall over the U.S. Atlantic coast.

What's measured

Atmosphere › Clouds › Cloud Properties › Cloud Base Height

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2020-01-01 → 2023-03-02
  • Measured byGROUND STATIONS (VERTICAL POINTING RADAR)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-73.1278305053711, 40.896705627441406, -73.02965545654297, 40.9652694812486
  • FormatsnetCDF-3, netCDF-4
  • 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

The SBU Ceilometers IMPACTS dataset includes ceilometer cloud height measurements collected by the Vaisala CL51, Vaisala CT25K, and Lufft Ceilometer CHM 15k ceilometers operated by the State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook University. These data were collected during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign, a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic coast. IMPACTS aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to significantly advance prediction capabilities. The ceilometer dataset files are available from January 1, 2020, through March 2, 2023, in netCDF-3 and netCDF-4 formats.

Get the data

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="sbuceilimpacts",
    version="1",
    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 GHRC_DAAC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.