Clouds Data - Clouds Protocol

GLOBE Clouds Data

Jump to: Matched Satellite Data -- CLOUD GAZE -- Documentation and Related Data Links  

Matched Satellite Data

When a GLOBE Clouds observation is taken within 15 minutes of a satellite overpass, the data are matched to NASA satellite data for further analysis. The GLOBE Clouds data and matching satellite data are provided as CSV files for the period named (some files are compressed into ZIP format if they were too large). These data files include all clouds data received by GLOBE and matched to satellite data by the NASA Langley Research Center GLOBE Clouds team as of the date in the file name (example: 2017_GLOBE-AnnualCloudData_2022-03-18_v3-0.csv).

Version notes:

• Version 1.1 includes all data from Version 1.0, plus data that was received after the Version 1.0 files were generated.
• Version 2.0 data includes additional satellite matches after a correction to the code used for matching, an error pointed out by a regular GLOBE Observer contributor. The window before or after a satellite overpass to match with ground data was incorrectly set at 0.15 hours (9 minutes) rather than the full 15 minutes (0.25 hours) intended. All data starting from 2017-01-01 has been reprocessed using the new code, resulting in an additional 54,000+ satellite matches, a 36% increase. The 2018 Spring Data Challenge data file was replaced in March 2021 with a new version including some data missing from the December 2020 version.
• Version 3.0 data changes the -99 value that used to represent "no data" is now left blank (no quality assurance flags added).
• Versions 3.1 and 3.2 are processed using the 3.0 process, but at later dates (noted in the file name) and may include additional data submitted to the database later.
• The Terminator Problem specialized dataset consists of those clouds observations labeled by observers as being taken within an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset. Read more about the specialty terminator observations.

Annual Data Sets

Challenge and Special Events Data Sets

Citation: Rogerson, T.M., M. Colón Robles, J.E. Taylor, <year>, GLOBE Clouds Dataset <version>, NASA Langley Research Center,  https://observer.globe.gov/get-data/clouds-data.

Example: Rogerson, T.M., M. Colón Robles, J.E. Taylor, 2020, GLOBE Clouds Dataset v2.0, NASA Langley Research Center,  https://observer.globe.gov/get-data/clouds-data.

The data obtained from NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and GLOBE are free of charge for use in research, publications and commercial applications. When data from NASA LaRC and GLOBE are used in a publication, we request this acknowledgment be included: "These data were obtained from NASA Langley Research Center and the GLOBE Program." Please include such statements, either where the use of the data or other resource is described, or within the Acknowledgements section of the publication.

Acknowledgements: GLOBE Clouds at NASA Langley Research Center would like to thank the following teams for their support and collaboration: CALIPSO , CERES , FlashFLUX , SatCORPS , and ASDC .

CLOUD GAZE

The NASA GLOBE Community science project Leveraging Online and User Data through GLOBE And Zooniverse Engagement , or CLOUD GAZE, project is a collaboration between two giants of citizen science: The GLOBE Program and the Zooniverse  online platform, funded for a pilot phase through NASA’s Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program  . The CLOUD GAZE citizen science project characterizes cloud properties from sky photographs sent in through GLOBE Clouds ground observations. The GLOBE Clouds/CLOUD GAZE team at NASA Langley Research Center then produces datasets from three sources: (1) ground-cloud observations from The GLOBE Program, (2) NASA/NOAA satellite data, and (3) the CLOUD GAZE photographic characterizations. This data is provided as CSV files for the period or special event named.

Early Release CLOUD GAZE Test Datasets now available.

Citation: Rogerson, T.M., K. Ivey, M. Colón Robles, J.E. Taylor, <year>, CLOUD GAZE Test Dataset <version>, NASA Langley Research Center, https://observer.globe.gov/get-data/clouds-data.

Example: Rogerson, T.M., K. Ivey, M. Colón Robles, J.E. Taylor, 2022, CLOUD GAZE Test Dataset v1.0, NASA Langley Research Center,  https://observer.globe.gov/get-data/clouds-data.

The data obtained from the Zooniverse, NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC), and The GLOBE Program are free of charge for use in research, publications, and commercial applications. When data from The Zooniverse, The GLOBE Program, and NASA LaRC are used in a publication, we request this acknowledgment be included, "These data were obtained from the Zooniverse online platform, the GLOBE Program and NASA Langley Research Center." Please include such statements, either where the use of the data or other resource is described, or within the Acknowledgements section of the publication.

Acknowledgements: The CLOUD GAZE team would like to thank the following groups for their support and collaboration: CLOUD GAZE citizen scientists, the Zooniverse online platform, The GLOBE Program, NASA Earth Data, NASA Langley Research Center, and the CLOUD GAZE Science Steering Committee.

Documentation links:

Data Variable, Units, and Definitions (describes the data in the dataset) 

Documentation on How Satellite Data is Collocated to Ground Cloud Observations (v3.0, updated 03 Sep 2024)

GLOBE Data User Guide

NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE Data Description

Related data sets:

Eclipse Air Temperature Data

Dust Data