Reported values

CL61 reports the following data in the netCDF files.

For the format of the netCDF file, see NetCDF example file.

Table 1. Reported values in netCDF file
Description	NetCDF variable	Reporting unit
Heights (range) of the detected cloud bases	cloud_base_heights	m, ft
Visibility in the direction of the instrument beam	vertical_visibility	m, ft
Parallel-polarized component of the backscattered light	p_pol	1/(m*sr) Default: 60-second averaging
Cross-polarized component of the backscattered light	x_pol	1/(m*sr) Default: 60-second averaging
Attenuated volume backscatter coefficient	beta_att	1/(m*sr) Default: 60-second averaging
Linear depolarization ratio of the backscatter volume	linear_depol_ratio	Default: 60-second averaging
End of the averaging period	time	Seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00.000
Measurement distance from the instrument in the direction of the transmitted laser beam	range	m, ft
Number of the observed cloud layer (1 ... 5)	layer	Layer
Longitude	longitude	Degrees east
Latitude	latitude	Degrees north
Measurement site height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid	elevation	m Always in meters
Measurement azimuth angle Reference direction: north	azimuth_angle	Degrees
Scaled integral of the attenuated volume backscatter coefficient	beta_att_sum	1/(10^4*sr)
Unitless number describing the noise level of the attenuated volume backscatter coefficient	beta_att_noise_level	−
Tilt correction	tilt_correction	1 = on 0 = off
Instrument tilt angle from the vertical	tilt_angle	Degrees
Instrument height offset to reference level. Positive, if the instrument is placed, for example, on the roof of a building. Negative, if the instrument is placed below the ground level altitude, for example, in a pit. This value is added to the cloud base height results.	height_offset	m Always in meters
Airplane filter max. range. User configured value, `0` for not in use, otherwise the configured range.	airplane_filter_max_range	m, ft
Total amount of cloud cover. Aggregated across layers.	sky_condition_total_cloud _cover	Oktas
Amount of cloud cover in different cloud layers. For up to 5 layers	sky_condition_cloud_layer _covers	Oktas
Height of different cloud layers. For up to 5 layers	sky_condition_cloud_layer _heights	m, ft
Cloud penetration depth in the direction of the instrument beam	cloud_penetration_depth	m, ft
Cloud thickness in the direction of the instrument beam	cloud_thickness	m, ft
Detection of ground reaching precipitation	precipitation_detection	`1` = detected `0` = not detected
Detection of fog	fog_detection	`1` = detected `0` = not detected
Receiver gain status	receiver_gain	`1` = high-gain `0` = low-gain
Range resolution. Distance between consecutive profile elements.	range_resolution	m, ft
Factory cloud calibration value. Instrument-specific `beta_att` calibration value measured at the factory.	cloud_calibration_factor	−
User set cloud calibration value. Instrument-specific `beta_att` calibration value measured by the user, same as the factory value by default.	cloud_calibration_factor_user	−
Instrument-specific overlap function. Shares the vertical resolution of profiles.	overlap_function	−

Reported values - CL61

CL61 User Guide