The CloudSat Cloud Water Content products

In addition to vertical profiles of radar reflectivity, cloud mask, and cloud classification, the CloudSat Mission operates retrievals of cloud liquid water content (LWC) and ice water content (IWC) for all observed clouds along the CloudSat ground track. These retrievals are produced in two versions: one based on radar data only (RO) and a second based on a combination of radar data and visible optical depth (RVOD) as retrieved by the CloudSat 2B-TAU product, which is based on MODIS radiance data. The CloudSat LWC and IWC retrievals were combined into a cloud water content (CWC) product prior to their initial product release, in order to provide a partition of the cloud water into liquid and ice phases using a simple temperature-based scheme. This presentation will describe the products, assumptions and limitations, improvements since the initial release, and plans for further development of the products. The two versions of the products will be compared, and validation data and activities will be summarized.