ATom: Development of Cloud Indicator Algorithm Using Airborne Observations from CAPS

This dataset is the basis for the development of the Cloud Indicator, a novel algorithm that automatically detects and classifies measurement periods inside clouds. The included data were used in the analysis and development of figures for the related publication. The Cloud Indicator algorithm was developed based on particle size distribution measurements from a second-generation Cloud, Aerosol, and Precipitation Spectrometer (CAPS) combined with measurements of relative humidity and temperature from other sensors, to automatically detect flight sequences in clouds and classify the cloud type. Measurements were collected on 2016-08-20 as part of the Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom-1) Campaign and on 2017-04-20 as part of the Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, LIFEtime and dynamics (A-LIFE) project. As an additional criterion for the Cloud Indicator, a cloud-aerosol volume factor was established to ensure a precise and robust distinction between clouds and aerosol layers such as mineral dust or biomass burning to reduce misclassifications. Data are provided in netCDF (*.nc) format.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated November 5, 2026, 08:55 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 14:37 (UTC)
Identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2250
Modified 2026-11-02T22:15:59Z
Theme {"Earth Science"}
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id b7e473fa-9fea-4bf6-ba0c-73bddb81f2ad
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash b306850d9ac26992c475f99d13628b536e4a3f831e3ef6588ee780870738ea8f
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180.0, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90.0, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180.0, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90.0}]]
temporal 2016-07-01/2019-09-30