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Data Documentation

The AWE instrument contains four cameras which produce images in three spectral bands and a "background" image approximately every 1.2 seconds. For each orbit of the ISS, only those images where the instrument is looking down at the portion of the earth in shadow, are useable. Calibration corrections are applied to those images, then they are regridded to produce distortion-corrected images with pixels coincident between cameras, then coadded to reduce noise.

Coadded images from the four cameras (Level 1 data) are used to produce temperature and band intensity images (Level 2 data). Temperature and band intensity images are then used to produce temperature and band intensity swaths (Level 3 data) for one orbit.

Data Products

Awe data is made available in Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) files. Each NetCDF file contains usable images from one orbit of the ISS. Filenames are in the form awe_level_YYYYDOY_filter_orbit_version.nc. Where: level is one of the data levels listed below; filter is p12, p14, q20 or bkg; YYYYDOY is the UTC year and day-of-year at the start of the orbit; orbit is an orbit id unique to the AWE data; and version is a version number for the file. The file version number will be incremented if data is reprocessed for any reason. NetCDF attributes in the files contain values needed to interpret the contained images.

L1

Level 1

Each Level 1 data file contains regridded and coadded images from one camera for one orbit. So there will be four L0b NetCDF files for each orbit. One for each of the three spectral bands and one for background images.

L2a

Level 2a (Temperature Map)

Each Level 2a data file contains temperature map images for one orbit.

L2b

Level 2b (Band Intensity Map)

Each Level 2b data file contains band intensity map images for one orbit. Coming Soon

L3a

Level 3a (Temperature Swath)

Each Level 3a data file contains a temperature swath image for one orbit.

L3b

Level 3b (Band Intensity Swath)

Each Level 3b data file contains a band intensity swath image for one orbit. Coming soon.

L3c

Level 3c (Q line Radiance Swath)

Each Level 3c data file contains a q line radiance swath image for one orbit.

How to Search and Download

Data Download

The Data Download page can be used to search for, and download, AWE data files by date range and geographic region.

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