MISR Level 3 Cloud Motion Vector yearly Product in netCDF format V002

MI3YCMVN_2 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 Cloud Motion Vector yearly Product in netCDF format version 2. It contains retrievals of cloud motion determined by geometrically triangulating the position and motion of cloud features observed by MISR from multiple perspectives and times during the overpass of the Terra platform over each cloud scene. Estimates of cloud motion are a valuable proxy observation of the horizontal atmospheric wind field at the retrieved altitude of the cloud. Data collection for this product is ongoing.

The MISR instrument consists of nine pushbroom cameras which 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 cameras pointing forward, and four cameras pointing 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 itself is an instrument 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 9 cameras, in each of 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the affects of sunlight on Earth, as well as 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.