EarthCARE Product

Processing Levels

EarthCARE products are classified into four processing levels: Level 1b, Level 1c, Level 2a, and Level 2b. The definitions of these processing levels are common to both JAXA and ESA.
Level 2a and Level 2b products are often referred to as "higher-level products", and the processing required to generate them is known as "higher-level processing".

Levels Definition
Level 1B (L1b) Products that contain physical quantities converted from the raw digital signals observed by individual sensors.
Level 1C (L1c) (For MSI products only) Products in which the geometric misalignment between spectral bands in L1b data has been corrected.
Level 2A (L2a) Higher‑level products derived from single‑sensor observations, providing retrieved atmospheric physical parameters.
Level 2B (L2b) Higher‑level products derived from multi‑sensor observations, providing retrieved atmospheric physical parameters.

Standard Products

JAXA products that meet establshed quality standards through validation are released as "Standard Products". These products are continuously updated after release through algorithm improvements and periodic version updates.

Click a product ID to view detailed information.

Sensor Product ID Level Latest Version Primary Parameters Developer/ATBD
CPR Received echo power and doppler product
(Level 1)		 CPR_NOM L1b vDa Received echo power (W)
Radar reflectivity factor (dBZ)
Doppler velocity (m/s)		 JAXA
Echo CPR_ECO L2a vCb Integrated radar reflectivity facoty (dBZ)
Integrated Doppler velocity (m/s)
Gas correction factor (dB)		 H. Horie
(NICT)
Cloud CPR_CLP L2a vCa Cloud mask
Cloud particle type
Liquid water content (g/m3)
Ice water content (g/m3)
Effective radius of liquid water cloud (um)
Atmospheric vertival velocity (m/s)
Sedimentation velocity (m/s)
Optical thickness		 H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
ATLID Level 1 ATL_NOM L1b vBc Attenuated backscatter (/m/sr)
(Rayleigh and Mie components)		 ESA
Cloud and Aerosol ATL_CLA L2a vCb Feature mask
Target mask
Extinction coeff. (/km)
Backscatter coeff. (/km/sr)
Lidar ratio
Depolarization Ratio (%)
Planetary boundary layer height (m)		 T. Nishizawa
(NIES)
MSI Level 1 MSI_NOM L1b vBc Radiance:
VIS, NIR, SWIR (W/m2/um/sr)
TIR (K)		 ESA
Level 1 (Geolocation corrected) MSI_RGR L1c vBc Radiance:
VIS, NIR, SWIR (W/m2/um/sr)
TIR (K)		 ESA
Cloud MSI_CLP L2a vCa Cloud flag, cloud phase
Cloud optical thickness
Cloud effective radius (um)
Cloud top temperature (K)
Cloud top height (km)
Cloud top pressure (hPa)		 T. Y. Nakajima
(Tokai Univ.)
BBR Level 1 BBR_NOM L1b vBc shortwave radiance (W/m2/sr)
longwave radiance (W/m2/sr)
(forward, nadir, backward)		 ESA
2-sensor synergy
(CPR+ATLID)		 Cloud AC_CLP L2b vCa Cloud mask
Cloud particle type
Liquid water content (g/m3)
Ice water content (g/m3)
Effective radius of liquid water cloud (um)
Atmospheric vertival velocity (m/s)
Sedimentation velocity (m/s)
Optical thickness		 H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
3-sensor synergy
(CPR+ATLID+MSI)		 Cloud ACM_CLP L2b vBa Cloud mask
Cloud particle type
Liquid water content (g/m3)
Ice water content (g/m3)
Effective radius of liquid water cloud (um)
Atmospheric vertival velocity (m/s)
Sedimentation velocity (m/s)
Optical thickness
Liquid water path (g/m2)
Ice water path (g/m2)		 H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
4-sensor synergy
(CPR+ATLID+MSI+BBR)		 Radiation budget ALL_RAD L2b vBa SW radiative flux (W/m2)
LW radiative flux (W/m2)
SW radiative heating rate (K/day)
LW radiative heating rate (K/day)		 K. Suzuki
(UTokyo)

Research Products

Research Products are scientifically valuable products for which algorithm development and high-accuracy retrieval are challenging.
These products are positioned as research-oriented products and are planned to be released by JAXA Earth Observation Research Center or Japanese univiersities and research institutes.

Sensor Product ID Level Latest Version Primary Parameters Developer/ATBD
CPR Doppler CPR_DOP L2a Under development Doppler velocity correction value
(considering inhomogeneity)		 H. Horie
(NICT)
Rain and Snow CPR_RAS L2a Under development Attenuated corrected radar reflectivity factor
Rain water content
Snow water content
Rain rate
Snow rate		 H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
ATLID Aerosol extinction ATL_ARL L2a Under development Water soluble particle extinction coefficient
Dust extinction coefficient
Sea salt extinction factor
Black carbon extinction coefficient		 T. Nishizawa
(NIES)
MSI Aerosol MSI_ARL L2a Under development Aerosol optical thickness
Angstrom exponents		 M. Yoshida
(RESTEC)
CPR+ATLID Particle mass ration AC_MRA L2b Under development Mass ratio (2D Ice/IWC) H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
Rain and Snow AC_RAS L2b Under development Rain water content
Snow water content
Rain rate
Snow rate		 JAXA
ATLID+MSI Aerosol components AM_ARL L2b Under development Water soluble particle extinction coefficient
Dust extinction coefficient
Sea salt extinction factor
Black carbon extinction coefficient
Mode radius (fine mode)
Mode radius (coase mode)		 T. Nishizawa
(NIES)
Aerosol direct radiative forcing L2b Under development Aerosol direct radiative forcing (TOA and BOA) K. Suzuki
(UTokyo)
CPR+ATLID+MSI Rain and Snow ACM_RAS L2b Under development Rain water content
Snow water content
Rain rate
Snow rate		 H. Okamoto
(Kyushu Univ.)
Ice cloud (emmision method) ACM_ICE L2b Under development Optical thickness of ice cloud derived from emission method
Effective radius of ice cloud derived from emission method		 -

Auxiliary Products（ECMWF)

Sensor Product ID Level Latest Version Primary Parameters Developer/ATBD
- AUX-2D AUX_2D L2a vCa Pressure (Pa)
Temperature (K)
Specific humidity (kg/kg)
Ozone mass mixing ratio (kg/kg)
2m temperature (K)
10m U-velocity (m/s)
10m V-velocity (m/s)
Total column ozone (km/m2)
Total column water vapor (km/m2)		 JAXA
AUX-2D for developers AUX_2DH L2a vCa JAXA
AUX-3D AUX_3D L2a vCa JAXA
AUX-3D for developers AUX_3JH L2a vCa JAXA
AUX-3D for developers AUX_3MH L2a vCa JAXA

ESA L2 Products

Descriptions of ESA level 2 products are available in the "EarthCARE Product Data Handbook" on the ESA website.