Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites—R Series

A collaborative NOAA & NASA program

Data Products: Cloud Particle Size Distribution

GOES-16 cloud particle size distribution product, April 9, 2017.

Download daytime product algorithm theoretical basis document (ATBD) Download nighttime product algorithm theoretical basis document (ATBD)

The cloud effective particle size is computed using the same algorithm that estimates cloud optical depth (COD). Using both the visible and near-infrared ABI bands during the day and the infrared bands during the night, the GOES-R cloud optical and microphysical properties algorithm retrieves, simultaneously with COD, the cloud particle size. Cloud particle size provides valuable information about the radiative properties of clouds. This information combined with the information provided by the COD product provides very accurate information about the Earth’s radiation budget, yielding more accurate climate prediction possibilities.