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One of the primary atmospheric products produced from the MODIS sensor on the Terra and Aqua satellites is the cloud product. This product (Earth Science Data Set names MOD06 and MYD06 for Terra and Aqua MODIS, respectively) contains pixel-level retrievals of cloud-top properties (pressure, temperature, and height–both day and night), and cloud optical properties (optical thickness, effective particle radius, and water path for both liquid water and ice cloud thermodynamic phases–daytime only). For conciseness, we will typically abbreviate cloud optical thickness, effective radius, and water path as COT, CER, and CWP, respectively. Unless otherwise noted, further mention of MOD06 also includes the Aqua MODIS products as the algorithms are mostly identical.

The original pre-launch cloud optical retrieval algorithm was described in an Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD), cf. modis-atmos. gsfc. nasa. gov/reference_atbd. html. While this was useful for communicating algorithm details to the retrieval community and providing a mechanism for community review, the ATBD has been superseded by NASA ROSES solicitation reviews, publications, and our focus on web-delivered “user guides.”