The Ocean Biology DAAC produces near real-time (NRT) products using the best-available combination of ancillary data from meteorological and ozone data. As such, the inputs and the calibration used are less than optimal. Near real-time products provide a snapshot of the data during a short time period within a single orbit.

The CLOUD_GPC suite provides cloud properties derived from the GISS Polarimetric Cloud (GPC) algorithm, along with additional variables obtained through combination with the OCI CLOUD suite.

Given the novelty of implementing a polarimetric algorithm on a global scale, note that several experimental variables—particularly those intended for diagnostic purposes and future refinement—are included and may change in subsequent, more mature versions.
Core geophysical variables in this suite include:
• cloud_droplet_effective_radius / variance - Cloud droplet effective radius and variance (µm, unitless)
• cloud_droplet_number_concentration - Droplet number concentration (combining with OCI CLOUD) (cm⁻³)
• cloud_liquid_water_path - Cloud liquid water path (combining with OCI CLOUD) (g m⁻²)
• cloud_liquid_index - Index measuring polarized primary bow strength (unitless)
• cloud_optical_thickness - Cloud optical thickness (from OCI CLOUD) (unitless)
• cloud_bow_extinction_cross_section_Xnm – 355/532 nm extinction cross section based on Cloud Bow retrievals
• cloud_bow_lidar_ratio_Xnm – 355/532 lidar ratios based on Cloud Bow retrievals
• cloudrft* - Retrievals from Rainbow Fourier Transform (experimental and exploratory, intended for future substantial refinements)
• cloud_top_properties - Cloud top altitude (m), pressure (hPa), and temperature (K) (from OCI CLOUD)