| CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
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Measurements > Atmosphere >
Cloud particle properties and profile >
Cloud ice (column/profile)
  | Measurement Definition*: Vertical profile of atmospheric water in the liquid phase (precipitating or not). Measured in the troposphere (assumed height: 12 km), and as total column - Physical unit: profile [ g/kg ], total column [g/m2] - Accuracy unit: profile [ % ], total column [g/m2]. |
| Instrument | Status/
Accuracy | Instrument Description | Measurement Technology | Timeline |
GMI
GPM Microwave Imager | Operational
| Measures rainfall rates over oceans and land, combined rainfall structure and surface rainfall rates with associated latent heating. Used to produce three hour, daily, and monthly total rainfall maps over oceans and land. | Multi-purpose imaging MW radiometer | |
HARP2
Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter | Operational
| Polarimeter for measuring aerosol optical properties, clouds and aerosol types. | n/a | |
CPR (EarthCARE)
Cloud Profiling Radar (EarthCARE) | Being developed
| Measurement of cloud properties, light precipitation, vertical motion. | Cloud and precipitation radar | |
DMR (INCUS)
Dynamic Microwave Radiometer | Being developed
| Measures microwave radiances simultaneously with radar reflectivity pofiles for tropical convective storms | Multi-purpose imaging MW radiometer | |
ICI
Ice Cloud Imager | Being developed
+/-50 % | Measures ice cloud properties (ice water path, mean ice mass height, mean ice particle size by mass), liquid/solid precipitation information, and water vapour profiles | Multi-purpose imaging MW radiometer | |
METimage
Multi Spectral Imager | Being developed
| Operational multi spectral imager for meteorological EPS-SG VIS/IR Imaging Mission (VII): imagery data for global and regional NWP, NWC, and climate monitoring with information on LST, SST, clouds coverage, height and micro-physics, land surfaces (vegetation, snow/ice, fire), water vapour column, aerosol and atmospheric motion vectors. Provides collocated cloud mask, height & characterisation as well as intra-pixel heterogeneity to other EPS-SG missions (with larger footprint). | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
ATLID
ATmospheric LIDar | Approved
| Derivation of cloud and aerosol properties - Measurement of molecular and particle backscatter in Rayleigh, co-polar and cross-polar Mie channels. | n/a | |
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* Description adapted from WMO.
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