Articles | Volume 19, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3137-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3137-2026
Research article
 | 
13 May 2026
Research article |  | 13 May 2026

Ground-based comparison of Sentinel-5P TROPOMI cloud fraction products using calibration-informed low-cost multi-spectral sensors

Wolfgang Schneider

Cited articles

Committee on Earth Observation Satellites: A Geostationary Satellite Constellation for Observing Global Air Quality: An International Path Forward, Tech. rep., CEOS Atmospheric Composition Virtual Constellation, http://ceos.org/document_management/Virtual_Constellations/ACC/Documents/CEOS_AC-VC_GEO-AQ-Constellation_Overview_Nov2020.pdf (last access: 8 May 2026), 2020. a, b
De Mazière, M., Thompson, A. M., Kurylo, M. J., Wild, J. D., Bernhard, G., Blumenstock, T., Braathen, G. O., Hannigan, J. W., Lambert, J.-C., Leblanc, T., McGee, T. J., Nedoluha, G., Petropavlovskikh, I., Seckmeyer, G., Simon, P. C., Steinbrecht, W., and Strahan, S. E.: The Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC): history, status and perspectives, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4935–4964, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4935-2018, 2018. a, b
Dürr, B. and Philipona, R.: Automatic cloud amount detection by surface longwave downward radiation measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 109, D05201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004182, 2004. a, b
Forsythe, J. M., Haar, T. H. V., and Reinke, D. L.: Cloud identification and classification from multispectral satellite data, J. Appl. Meteorol., 39, 93–109, 2000. a
Amos, H. M., Colón Robles, M., and the GLOBE Cloud Community: Clouds around the World: How a Simple Citizen Science Data Challenge Became a Worldwide Success, B. Am. Meteor. Soc., 101, E1049–E1069, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0295.1, 2020. a
Download
Short summary
A low-cost ground station using commercial infrared sensors compared Sentinel-5P cloud fraction retrievals in pre-Alpine Bavaria, Germany. Agreement was strong (R = 0.879, N = 27 after quality filtering). The method functions as a three-state classifier (clear / partly cloudy / overcast). Citizen science sensor networks offer a scalable approach to screen satellite data quality in regions lacking professional monitoring.
Share