CLAUS

Cloud Archive User Service (CLAUS)

Introduction

The CLAUS project was co-ordinated by ESSC and involved all of the major climate modelling groups in Europe. The project was supported by the European Union under the IVth Framework Programme (Environment and Climate) and ran from April 1997 to December 1999.

The aim of the CLAUS project was to produce a long time-series of three-hourly global window channel thermal infra-red images of the Earth and to test the feasibility of using this in evaluating atmospheric General Circulation Models. The CLAUS archive currently spans the period 1st July 1983 - 30th June 2006. Responsibility for maintaining and updating the CLAUS archive resides with the Environmental Systems Science Centre (ESSC). Because the data are of wider use ESSC are making the CLAUS archive available generally.

The source data used in CLAUS are the level B3 (reduced resolution) 10 micron radiances from operational meteorological satellites participating in the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Programme (ISCCP) and were obtained from the NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (LASDC). During the CLAUS project the B3 data were processed to create a uniform latitude-longitude grid (or image) of Brightness Temperature (BT) values at a spatial resolution of 0.5 by 0.5 degrees and temporal resolution of three hours. Information at the grid point level about the satellites used in generating each BT image, and the type of interpolation applied, was held in two supplementary quality files.

The B3 data are now being rigorously quality controlled to remove residual noise and navigation/calibration errors that were noticed in the original processing. The 0.5 degree resolution data are being updated and supplemented by a new product at one-third degree spatial resolution for use in process studies. These higher resolution data are also being used to create monthly animations for educational purposes.

Availability of data

Data and software supplied to the BADC by ESSC will be stored in the BADC CLAUS archive. These data are available for general use, subject to the terms and conditions of use contained in the User Guide.

Restricted Data

Access to this data is restricted. In order to gain access to the data, please apply for access to CLAUS data .

Documentation

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Citation

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Who to contact

If you would like to know more about the CLAUS data and how to obtain it from the BADC, you should contact us through the BADC support line.

For more detailed information about the CLAUS project, the methodology employed in creating the CLAUS archive and the characteristics of the data that might affect its use in applications, please contact the Project Scientist Dr. Gary J Robinson.

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