Temperature, water and gases through the air column (NOAA-20)
What it measures. A full snapshot of the atmosphere's state at each location: temperature, water vapor, and ozone at different heights, plus surface temperature, cloud-top details, and several trace gases like carbon monoxide, methane, and carbon dioxide.
How it's made. Produced by combining infrared and microwave sounder data from the CrIS/ATMS instruments on the NOAA-20 satellite, then estimating the atmospheric conditions with a best-fit method that starts from a reasonable first guess.
How & where you'd use it. Supports weather analysis and climate research by describing how temperature, moisture, and gases vary through the air column.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2015-11-02 → ongoing
- Measured byJPSS-1 (CrIS, ATMS)
- Processing levelLevel 2
- Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
- StatusACTIVE
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 CLIMCAPS (Community Long-term Infrared Microwave Coupled Product System) algorithm is used to analyze data from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (CrIS/ATMS) instruments, also known as CrIMSS (Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounding Suite). The CrIS/ATMS instruments used for this product are on board the NOAA-20 platform, also known as JPSS-1. The CrIS instrument is a Fourier transform spectrometer with a total of 2211 FSR (Full Spectral Resolution) infrared sounding channels covering the longwave (645-1095 cm-1), midwave (1210-1750 cm-1), and shortwave (2100-2550 cm-1) spectral regions. The ATMS instrument is a cross-track scanner with 22 channels in spectral bands from 23 GHz through 183 GHz. The CLIMCAPS algorithm uses an Optimal Estimation methodology and uses an a-priori first guess to start the process. A CLIMCAPS sounding is comprised of a set of parameters that characterizes the full atmospheric state and includes a variety of geophysical parameters derived from the CrIMSS data. These include surface temperature and infrared emissivity; full atmosphere profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone; infrared effective cloud top characteristics; carbon monoxide, methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and nitric acid. The CLIMCAPS algorithm uses data from the second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) as a first-guess for the atmospheric state. Because MERRA-2 products typically have a latency from 3 to 7 weeks, so too do the CLIMCAPS products. A level 2 granule has been set as 6 minutes of data, 30 footprints cross track by 45 lines along track. There are 240 granules per day, with an orbit repeat cycle of approximately 16 day.
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="SNDRJ1IML2CPS",
version="2.1",
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 GES_DISC Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package. Official links
- Access the data via HTTPS. GET DATA
- Access the data via the OPeNDAP protocol. USE SERVICE API
- Mapping of data variables from v2 CLIMCAPS to V2.1 CLIMCAPS CPS VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- CLIMCAPS L2 Product User Guide:File Format and Definition VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- CLIMCAPS ATBD VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Product quality assessment guide VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- CLIMCAPS Science Application Guide (Digital version) VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- CLIMCAPS Science Application Guide VIEW RELATED INFORMATION