MISR Level 3 Cloud Fraction by Altitude Product covering a month V001

MIL3MCFA_1 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 Cloud Fraction by Altitude Product covering a month version 1. It provides the frequency of cloud occurrence partitioned into different cloud top height bins at a global and monthly scale with a latitude/longitude resolution of 0.5 degrees by 0.5 degrees and a vertical resolution of 500m. For each height bin, the frequency of a region's cloud occurrence over time is represented by the temporal mean of the spatial coverage of cloud tops. The spatial coverage of clouds is called cloud fraction, which is defined as the ratio of the number of cloudy pixels to the total number of cloudy and cloud-free pixels observed by the instrument. Clouds are assigned to height bins based on their top height, as the MISR stereoscopic technique retrieved. Data collection for this product is complete. The MISR instrument consists of nine push-broom cameras that measure radiance in four spectral bands. Global coverage is achieved in nine days. The cameras are arranged with one camera pointing toward the nadir, four forward, and four aftward. It takes seven minutes for all nine cameras to view the same surface location. The view angles relative to the surface reference ellipsoid are 0, 26.1, 45.6, 60.0, and 70.5 degrees. The spectral band shapes are nominally Gaussian, centered at 443, 555, 670, and 865 nm. MISR is designed to view Earth with cameras pointed in 9 different directions. As the instrument flies overhead, each piece of Earth's surface below is successively imaged by all nine cameras in 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the effects of sunlight on Earth and distinguish different types of clouds, particles, and surfaces. Specifically, MISR monitors the monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in three areas: 1) amount and type of atmospheric particles (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources and by human activities; 2) amounts, types, and heights of clouds, and 3) distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Maintainer	Earthdata Forum
Last Updated	April 13, 2026, 19:49 (UTC)
Created	April 1, 2025, 17:24 (UTC)
accessLevel	public
bureauCode	{026:00}
catalog_conformsTo	https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id	048be794-4a9a-4221-8302-aaeaaa7a05b0
harvest_source_id	b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title	Science Discovery Engine
identifier	10.5067/Terra/MISR/MIL3MCFA_L3.001
license	https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified	2026-04-06T22:16:01Z
programCode	{026:000}
publisher	NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC;NASA/JPL/MISR
resource-type	Dataset
source_datajson_identifier	true
source_hash	33e0e1a2a4bcfc211cb11df3fab1da05b5034d1725349b4cdd5e9c9263b51253
source_schema_version	1.1
spatial	[[{"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180,"NorthBoundingCoordinate":90,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-90}],"CARTESIAN"]
temporal	2000-03-01/2026-04-06
theme	{"Earth Science"}