ISCCP B1 data at NCDC: A new climate resource

The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data is archived at the National Climatic Data Center. The various ISCCP data levels – subsampled satellite data (e.g., B), cloud products (e.g., C1), and pixel-level cloud products (e.g., DX) – provide global observations every three hours from July 1983 to present. In particular, the B1 level data is a high resolution dataset that has yet to be used for research. ISCCP B1 data is made up of Geostationary observations from JMA’s GMS series, EUMETSAT’s Meteosat series and the NOAA GOES series of geostationary satellites. In fact, the B1 data is the only source for GMS data for 1983-1987. The fulldisk imagery visible and infrared observations are subsampled to approximately 10km, with some satellites also providing water vapor data (e.g., from Meteosat), the full suite of channels from GOES-8 through 12, and most recently all 12 channels of Meteosat-8 (formerly, Meteosat Second Generation, MSG). Until recently, access to B1 data was limited by a lack of documentation and software support. However, recent efforts by NCDC now provide information on reading, navigating and calibrating the B1 data. This allows climatological research from the B1 data at high spatial and temporal resolutions.