Validation of cloud macrophysical properties from the ATLID Level 2a products A-TC, A-FM, A-CTH using airborne lidar observations during the HALO missions PERCUSION, ASCCI and NAWDIC

Krüger, Konstantin; Wirth, Martin; Floutsi, Athena Augusta; Donovan, David Patrick; van Zadelhoff, Gerd-Jan; Groß, Silke Martha

doi:10.5194/amt-19-5923-2026

Articles | Volume 19, issue 18

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5923-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Early results from EarthCARE (AMT/ACP/GMD inter-journal SI)

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5923-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 18

Research article

|

17 Sep 2026

Research article |

| 17 Sep 2026

Validation of cloud macrophysical properties from the ATLID Level 2a products A-TC, A-FM, A-CTH using airborne lidar observations during the HALO missions PERCUSION, ASCCI and NAWDIC

Konstantin Krüger, Martin Wirth, Athena Augusta Floutsi, David Patrick Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and Silke Martha Groß

Data sets

WALES lidar data from the PERCUSION field campaign for the Sal period Version 1.2 (Version v1.2) Martin Wirth https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15527242

WALES lidar data from the PERCUSION field campaign for the Barbados period Version 1.2 (Version v1.2) Martin Wirth and Silke Groß https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17153149

WALES lidar data from the PERCUSION field campaign for the Oberpfaffenhofen period Version 1.2 (Version v1.2) Martin Wirth and Silke Groß https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17153625

ECMWF operational analyses and forecasts ECMWF https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/access-forecasts/access-archive-datasets

Short summary

Cloud properties from three ATLID Level 2 products (A-TC, A-FM, A-CTH) of the EarthCARE satellite mission are validated using independent airborne lidar observations collected during satellite underflights in the tropics and extratropics. The products reliably represent cloud pixel distribution and cloud top height; though ice cloud pixels and cloud top height are slightly overestimated. Comparison with a more recent baseline shows improvements, supporting their use for cloud property studies.