DOI: 10.5880/fidgeo.2020.012
title: L1B2.out: Samples of MISR L1B2 GRP data to explore the missing data replacement process

description: This data publication provides access to (1) an archive of maps and statistics on MISR L1B2 GRP data products updated as described in Verstraete et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2019-210), (2) a user manual describing this archive, (3) a large archive of standard (unprocessed) MISR data files that can be used in conjunction with the IDL software repository published on GitHub and available from https://github.com/mmverstraete (Verstraete et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3519989), (4) an additional archive of maps and statistics on MISR L1B2 GRP data products updated as described for eight additional Blocks of MISR data, spanning a broader range of climatic and environmental conditions (between Iraq and Namibia), and (5) a user manual describing this second archive. The authors also make a self-contained, stand-alone version of that processing software available to all users, using the IDL Virtual Machine technology (which does not require an IDL license) from Verstraete et al., 2020: http://doi.org/10.5880/fidgeo.2020.011. (1) The compressed archive 'L1B2_Out.zip' contains all outputs produced in the course of generating the various Figures of the manuscript Verstraete et al. (2020b). Once this archive is installed and uncompressed, 9 subdirectories named Fig-fff-Ttt_Pxxx-Oyyyyyy-Bzzz are created, where fff, tt, xxx, yyyyyy and zzz stand for the Figure number, an optional Table number, Path, Orbit and Block numbers, respectively. These directories contain collections of text, graphics (maps and scatterplots) and binary data files relative to the intermediary, final and ancillary results generated while preparing those Figures. Maps and scatterplots are provided as graphics files in PNG format. Map legends are plain text files with the same names as the maps themselves, but with a file extension '.txt'. Log files are also plain text files. They are generated by the software that creates those graphics files and provide additional details on the intermediary and final results. The processing of MISR L1B2 GRP data product files requires access to cloud masks for the same geographical areas (one for each of the 9 cameras). Since those masks are themselves derived from the L1B2 GRP data and therefore also contain missing data, the outcomes from updating the RCCM data products, as described in Verstraete et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-611-2020), are also included in this archive. The last 2 subdirectories contain the outcomes from the normal processing of the indicated data files, as well as those generated when additional missing data are artificially inserted in the input files for the purpose of assessing the performance of the algorithms. (2) The document 'L1B2_Out.pdf' provides the User Manual to install and explore the compressed archive 'L1B2_Out.zip'. (3) The compressed archive 'L1B2_input_68050.zip' contains MISR L1B2 GRP and RCCM data for the full Orbit 68050, acquired on 3 October 2012, as well as the corresponding AGP file, which is required by the processing system to update the radiance product. This archive includes data for a wide range of locations, from Russia to north-west Iran, central and eastern Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and many more countries along the eastern coast of the African continent. It is provided to allow users to analyze actual data with the software package mentioned above, without needing to download MISR data from the NASA ASDC web site. (4) The compressed archive 'L1B2_Suppl.zip' contains a set of results similar to the archive 'L1B2_Out.zip' mentioned above, for four additional sites, spanning a much wider range of geographical, climatic and ecological conditions: these are covering areas in Iraq (marsh and arid lands), Kenya (agriculture and tropical forests), South Sudan (grasslands) and Namibia (coastal desert and Atlantic Ocean). Two of them involve largely clear scenes, and the other two include clouds. The last case also includes a test to artificially introduce missing data over deep water and clouds, to demonstrate the performance of the procedure on targets other than continental areas. Once uncompressed, this new archive expands into 8 subdirectories and takes up 1.8 GB of disk space, providing access to about 2,900 files. (5) The companion user manual L1B2_Suppl.pdf, describing how to install, uncompress and explore those additional files.