README.rst

CLOUDSAT data
===================================

The data included here are July 2006 -- December 2010 CloudSat 94 GHz Radar +
CALIOP Lidar Cloud Fraction climatologies.

Usage
-----

Please include the following reference when using this dataset:

    Kay, J. E., and A. Gettelman (2009), Cloud influence on and response to
    seasonal Arctic sea ice loss, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D18204.
    `doi:10.1029/2009JD011773 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD011773>`_.

This citation has been provided in BibTeX form in the
``$LEX/data/clouds/cloudsat/Kay2009.bib``
file with ``Kay2009`` as the citation key, and will be rendered in the
references section on the output website.

Files
-----

* ``CLOUDSAT_[MM]_aavg_climo.nc`` -- The July 2006 -- December 2010 average cloud
  cover for the month ``MM``.
* ``CLOUDSAT_ANN_climo.nc`` -- The July 2006 -- December 2010 annual average cloud
  cover.

Rehost
------

These climatologies were created from the daily Cloudsat data, which is freely
available after registration at http://www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu/, and were
made for comparing with model data. They are available freely after registering with CESM here:
http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/working_groups/Atmosphere/amwg-diagnostics-package/find-code.html
Please see https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/cloudsat for more details on how
these climatologies were produced.