| Data Type |
Data Source |
Reason Required |
| Vertical profiles of
temperature and humidity |
TOVS soundings from
NOAA/NESDIS
|
Specification in radiative
transfer analysis of
atmospheric effects on
infrared radiances and
location of clouds in altitude. |
| Ozone column
concentrations |
TOVS soundings from
NOAA/NESDIS
|
Specification of atmospheric
effects on visible radiances in
radiative transfer analysis. |
| Weekly snow
cover analysis
|
Digitized values from
NOAA/NESDIS |
Specification of variations of
surface visible reflectance to
discriminate between snow
covered land and clouds. |
| Weekly sea ice
cover analysis
|
Maps from U.S. Navy/NOAA
Joint Ice Center |
Specification of time variation
of ocean surface visible
reflectance to discriminate
between sea ice and clouds. |
| Three-hourly
global collection
of surface reports
|
NMC data, provided by
NOAA/NESDIS |
Specification of time diurnal
and synoptic time variations
of land surface temperature to
improve discrimination of low
clouds and land surface,
especially at night. |
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