ICARE

The ICARE Thematic Center was created in 2003 by CNES, CNRS, the Nord-Pas-De-Calais Regional Council, and the University of Lille, to provide various services to support the research community in fields related to atmospheric research, such as aerosols, clouds, radiation, water cycle, and their interactions. ICARE's initial emphasis is the production and distribution of remote sensing data derived from Earth observation missions from CNES, NASA, and EUMETSAT. One of ICARE's main components is the Data and Services Center, located at the University of Lille, which develops science algorithms and production codes, building on the expertise from various partner Science Computing Facilities, and distributes products to the users community. ICARE is one of the 4 centers of AERIS, the French Data Infrastructure for Atmosphere created in 2014.

Image of the month

Sargassum near Cape Verde
January 26, 2021


Source: Copernicus/Sentinel Hub/ESA
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While Sargassum used to be mostly observed in the Antilles, Sargassum now proliferate in a large tropical region of the Atlantic, from the Antilles to West Africa. Large amounts of Sargassum have been observed off Cape Verde in early 2021.

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Highlights

Satellites reveal the spread of Sargassum across the Atlantic
February 2021


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In the frame of the SAREDA (SArgassum Evolving Distribution in the Atlantic) project, the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) and the AERIS/ICARE Data and Services Center implemented a system that monitors Sargassum in the Atlantic from space using observations from NASA's MODIS instrument. MIO scientists study the biology and the ecology of those algae, specially their transport in the Atlantic, in order to understand the origin of that proliferation, and explain the variations of their abundance over time.
 

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Release of CALIPSO IIR V4.20 L2 Product
April 2020


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The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center and the French AERIS/ICARE Data and Services Center in Lille, France, in collaboration with the CALIPSO mission team announce the release of a new version of the CALIPSO IIR Level-2 Track and Swath products.
The V4.20 IIR Level-2 track and swath data products are the first major revision to the products since Version 3 released in May 2011. They are named after the V4.20 CALIOP 5-km cloud and aerosol layer data products, which are used in synergy with the IIR calibrated radiances reported in the V2.00 IIR Level-1 data product. The V4.20 IIR Level-2 data products include a refined CALIOP-based scene classification, an updated radiative transfer model analysis for clear air reference, improved optical and microphysical properties of ice and water clouds, both over ocean and over land, in particular for thin clouds and for multi-layered cloud systems.
The products released are available in the ICARE archive and on the new ASDC site:


+ Access to CALIPSO IIR V4.20 L2 product from the ICARE on-line archive

+ More information about the CALIPSO IIR V4.20 L2 product on the CALIPSO site