The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) provides data on various aspects of cloud variables like cloud amount, optical thickness, and cloud top temperature. The data, which have been collected since 1983, are available at 3-hour and monthly intervals with global coverage. The product has more than 200 variables for physical and chemical characteristics, identification methods, and ancillary data (e.g., snow and ice cover, atmospheric temperature and humidity, etc.). 

ISCCP began in 1982 as a project to develop a climatology of cloud radiative properties. The legacy dataset (ISCCP-D series) ended production at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in 2009, when NCEI transitioned ISCCP processing to NOAA as the ISCCP-H series.

To help the project receive continued support, updates, and improvement, tell us how you use ISCCP data by completing our User Registration Form.

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ISCCP Climate Data Record

NOAA's Climate Data Records (CDRs) are robust, sustainable, and scientifically sound datasets that provide trustworthy information on how, where, and to what extent the land, oceans, atmosphere and ice sheets are changing. CDRs are thoroughly vetted time series measurements with the longevity, consistency, and continuity to assess and measure climate variability and change. They are vetted using standards established by the National Research Council (NRC).

ISCCP CDR Page

ICDR

About

The ISCCP Interim Climate Data Record (ICDR) is a temporary product of the ISCCP-H series data set. The ICDR is available to users for data covering the period from July 2017 through December 2018.  The ICDR will remain available until the final (non-interim) CDR data is released through the official archive. The ICDR is produced using the same methods as the official CDR product with the exception of using ancillary atmospheric temperature and moisture data that are based on the Neural Network High resolution Infra-Red Sounder (nnHIRS) climatology from 1995-2015.

Prior to releasing the ICDR to the public, the official product was compared to data that use the nnHIRS climatology for 2012. These differences are captured in the following ICDR 2015 statistics document. The performance of the ICDR and comparison with the actual CDR for every month of 2012 are shown for a sample of 12 variables. It provides standard deviation of the difference between ICDR and CDR variable in column 2, the monthly mean value and standard deviation  of the variable for the actual CDR (columns 2 & 3 respectively), and monthly mean and standard deviation of the variable for the ICDR which employs the nnHIRS climatology  (columns 4 & 5 respectively).

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FeaturesHigh Resolution Input Satellite Data

ISCCP uses input data from full-resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Area Coverage (GAC) and ~10 km geostationary imagery—an increase from ~30 km in the ISCCP-D series.

The higher resolution inputs allow 1 degree gridded products.

The H series CDR period of record extends from July 1983 through June 2017.  

Available for data covering the period from July 2017 through December 2018. 

Neural network profiles from the High resolution Infra-Red Sounder (HIRS) provide stable retrievals during the period of record.

Partners

NASA and NOAA, in partnership with many other agencies worldwide, have been operationally collecting and processing data for ISCCP since July 1983.

Citing ISCCP

Please cite the following references when using ISCCP-H series data in any publication:

Young, A. H., Knapp, K. R., Inamdar, A., Hankins, W., and Rossow, W. B.: The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project H-Series climate data record product, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 583–593, doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-583-2018.

Ensure that your citation corresponds to the version of the data you used. The latest version (v01r00) is: 

Rossow, W.B.; Walker, A.; Golea, V.; Knapp, K. R.; Young, A.; Inamdar A.; Hankins, B.; and NOAA's Climate Data Record Program (2016): International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Climate Data Record, H-Series [indicate subset used] NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. [access date]. doi:10.7289/V5QZ281S.

If the publication format does not allow citations, reference the data as “ISCCP-H series cloud data from NOAA/NCEI.”

ISCCP products are available in full and basic versions. The full version provides access to the complete set of ISCCP variables, while the basic version makes it easier to find more widely used general interest products.

Full Data

About

ISCCP data products are derived from global meteorological satellite observations. The full ISCCP dataset can be used to study the role of clouds in weather and climate. These data are particularly useful for characterizing cloud properties and their variations that affect solar and terrestrial radiation fluxes.

Full ISCCP Data Includes:

All ISCCP cloud variables (especially information about the retrieval process and uncertainties)

ISCCP ancillary data (ozone amount, temperature/humidity profiles, aerosol, snow/ice cover)

The ISCCP-H data in the satellite projection (HXS and HGS)

Other retrieved variables (surface reflectance, surface temperature, etc.)

Note: The 3-hourly data are averaged for each synoptic time (8 times per day), producing HGH files. The HGH data are averaged to produce the monthly average data: HGM.

Basic Data

About

The ISCCP Basic data are a CF-compliant reformat and subset of the variables from the complete ISCCP dataset. The Basic data focus on the most fundamental cloud parameters (e.g., cloud amount, temperature, optical thickness, etc).

ISCCP HGM and HGG data are also provided via a THREDDS data server that allows subsetting.

Note: The 3-hourly data are averaged for each synoptic time (8 times per day), producing HGH files. The HGH data are averaged to produce the monthly average data: HGM.

  ISCCP HGM/HGH ISCCP HXS
Source Product HGH/HGM   HGG  
Temporal Monthly averages   Instantaneous @ 3 hr intervals  
Spatial 1 deg equal angle   1 deg equal angle  
Monthly Volume ~30 MB   ~800 MB  
Format netCDF (CF compliant)   netCDF (CF compliant)  
Variables HGM/HGH Basic Variable List   HGG Basic Variable List  
Access Method    

Ancillary, Legacy, and Metadata

Ancillary Data

Ancillary data used in ISCCP-H processing is available upon request. Available ancillary data during the ISCCP period of record include:

3-hourly temperature and humidity profiles

Daily total column ozone

Daily snow and ice cover

Monthly aerosol data

The ISCCP-D series is still available for order through NCEI. Interested users can contact NCEI.Sat.Info@noaa.gov  to order ISCCP-D (legacy) series data (see Rossow and Schiffer 1999 for more information on the ISCCP-D series).

Legacy ISCCP data are only available in binary formats.

ISCCP Metadata Landing Page

Registration

Providing information on how you use ISCCP data helps the project receive continued support, updates, and improvements.

User Registration Survey

Send questions and inquiries about ISCCP to the ISCCP Community Q&A forum.

The provides the latest information on ISCCP status changes, bugs, data releases, etc.

The NCEI ISCCP team consists of the following members:

Kenneth R. Knapp, Subject Matter Expert

Hilawe Semunegus, Subject Matter Expert

Bill Hankins, Data Processing

Anand Inamdar,  Calibration Processing

Alisa Holley Young, Contributor

See the References tab for papers that describe the ISCCP.

Description

The basic ISCCP cloud analysis procedure is described in:

Rossow, W.B., and L.C. Garder, 1993a: Cloud detection using satellite measurements of infrared and visible radiances for ISCCP. Journal of Climate, 6, 2341–2369, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<2341:CDUSMO>2.0.CO;2.

More information about the complete analysis, including information about previous versions, can be found in Rossow & Schiffer 1991 and 1999. Additional details on the legacy ISCCP-D series are available at the NASA ISCCP page.

Cloud detection

Radiative model analysis

Statistical analysis

The Climate Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document contains a thorough description of the ISCCP algorithm.

Cloud detection is accomplished by segregating each pixel in a satellite image into cloudy and clear scenes. The cloud algorithm used for ISCCP was developed by comparing several legacy cloud algorithms to perform cloud detection processing. The initial space and time radiance contrast tests are used to construct a first guess of clear sky radiance scenes. The algorithm then compares observed satellite pixels to clear sky radiances. Pixels that are significantly different from the clear sky values are flagged as cloudy.

The radiances in cloudy pixels are used to retrieve two basic cloud properties, cloud top temperature and cloud visible optical depth; and two derived cloud properties, cloud top pressure and cloud water path. Clear pixels provide information to retrieve surface reflectance and temperature. The retrievals are based on radiative transfer models.

Results from each satellite are collected into one-degree equal area bins (e.g., mean, standard deviation, and frequency distributions) and merged into global products.

ISCCP Algorithm Inputs

There are two primary satellite input datasets and six ancillary datasets.

Resolution: 

10 km pixel, three hour, individual satellites

 Contents: 

Radiances with calibration and navigation appended; uniform format for all satellites. See the dataset description paper for more information. 

Resolution: 

4 km pixel (morning and afternoon orbits only)

Contents: 

Radiances with calibration and navigation

Ancillary Data Used

Surface Type Dataset

Resolution: 0.25 degree and 1 degree

Contents: Fixed data product that characterizes the Earth's surface at each map location as water or permanent ice shelf or as land in terms of vegetation type or permanent glaciers

Resolution: 0.25 degree and 1 degree

Contents: Fixed data product providing a land-water mask together with topographic height information over land

Resolution: 0.25 degree and 1 degree, equal-area grid, daily, global

Contents: Time varying data product that provides snow and sea ice fractional coverage deduced from ship/shore station reports and satellite visible, infrared, and microwave imagery data. Coverage by permanent glaciers and ice shelves is also reported.

Resolution: 1 degree, three hour, equal-area grid

Contents: Atmosphere and surface data including temperature and water vapor profiles obtained from HIRS observations using a neural network

Resolution: 1.0 degree, daily, global

Contents: Time-varying data product that characterizes the daily global distribution of total column ozone abundance in Dobson units, as well as flags that indicate the source of each value

Resolution: 1 degree, monthly, global

Contents: Time varying aerosol properties characterized by optical depth reported at 0.65 micrometers and 10.5 micrometers, together with the fine fraction for tropospheric aerosols, and the optical depths at the same wavelengths for stratospheric aerosols

ISCCP-H Series Related Publications

The dataset evolution from the predecessor ISCCP-D series to the ISCCP-H series is detailed in the following papers:

The following papers provide details and studies based on ISCCP-H Series:

Nearly 10,000 papers cite one of the primary documents for the legacy ISCCP-D Series. The following selection includes important papers that describe ISCCP processing.