The TOOCAN database is a level-2 product available over the entire tropics for the 2012-2016 period.
It gives an access to the integrated morphological parameters of each MCS (Location and time of initiation and dissipation, lifetime duration, propagated distance, maximum extent…). The MCSs are also described by their morphological characteristics at each 30min-step of their life cycles (Cold cloud surface at different level of brightness temperature thresholds, eccentricity, instantaneous velocity… )
The TOOCAN database is available over the 5-year period for each region of interest (Eastern-Pacific, America, Africa, India, Western-Pacific) in the following link: https://doi.org/10.14768/20191112001.1
The TOOCAN database is composed by two types of files:
- Regional segmented images at a 0.04° spatial resolution and a 30 minute temporal frequency (in NETCDF).
- Regional and monthly tracking files (in ASCII) documenting the MCS integrated morphological parameters and the MCS parameters at each 30minute-step of their life cycles.
Each MCS is then described by a unique label, which is useful to make the link between a given MCS described in the tracking files and the same MCS identified within the segmented images from the IR images. That’s way, using both the tracking file and the segmented images gives the opportunity to have an access to all the pixels of a given MCS identified in the segmented images, as well as its morphological parameters inside the monthly tracking files.
MCS Integrated morphological parameters
| Parameters | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|
| label | ID of the MCS within the segmented images | |
| qltyMCS | MCS flag quality | |
| classif | Classification of the MCSs | class 1 = MCS with a duration < 5hr class 2a = MCS with a duration ≥ 5hr and described by a uniq maximum extent along their life cycles class 2b = MCS with a duration ≥ 5hr and described by several maximums extent along their life cycles |
| duration | Life time duration | number of frames |
| UTimeInit | Universal Time of the MCS initiation | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: frame (1-48) |
| LTimeInit | Local time of the MCS initiation initiation in number of days since the 1st January 1970 plus the fraction of the day | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: fraction of the day |
| LonInit | Longitude of the MCS center of mass at its initiation | ° |
| latInit | Latitude of the MCS center of mass at its initiation | ° |
| UTimeEnd | Coordinated Universal Time of the MCS dissipation in number of days since the 1st January 1970 plus the slot | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: frame (1-48) |
| LTimeEnd | Local time of the MCS dissipation in number of days since the 1st January 1970 plus the fraction of the day | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: fraction of the day |
| LonEnd | Longitude of the MCS center of mass at its dissipation | ° |
| latEnd | Latitude of the MCS center of mass at its dissipation | ° |
| velocity | Average velocity of the MCS from its initiation to its dissipation | m/s |
| distance | Distance covered by the MCS | km |
| lonMin | Minimum longitude of the MCS along its life cycle | ° |
| latMin | Minimum latitude of the MCS along its life cycle | ° |
| lonMax | Maximum longitude of the MCS along its life cycle | ° |
| latMax | Maximum latitude of the MCS along its life cycle | ° |
| TbMin | Minimum brightness temperature of the MCS along its life cycle | K |
| maxSurf235K_pix | Maximum cold cloud surface reached by the MCS along its life cycle at 235K | number of pixels within the segmented images |
| maxSurf235K_km2 | Maximum cold cloud surface reached by the MCS along its life cycle at 235K | km² |
| maxSurf220K_km2 | Maximum cold cloud surface reached by the MCS along its life cycle at 220K | km² |
| maxSurf210K_km2 | Maximum cold cloud surface reached by the MCS along its life cycle at 210K | km² |
| maxSurf200K_km2 | Maximum cold cloud surface reached by the MCS along its life cycle at 200K | km² |
| coldCloudi | MCS Cold Cloudiness at 235K from its initiation to its dissipation | km² |
MCS morphological parameters along their life cycles
| Parameters | Description | Units |
| qltyGEO | Flag Indicating missing IR image | 0 = missing of the IR image and interpolation of the TOOCAN segmented image 1 = presence of the IR image |
| Tbmin | Minimum brightness temperature | K |
| Tbavg | Average brightness temperature | K |
| UTime | Coordinated Universal Time of the MCS in number of days since the 1st January 1970 plus the slot | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: frame (1-48) |
| LTime | Local time of the MCS in number of days since the 1st January 1970 plus the fraction of the day | integer part: number of days since the 1st January 1970 decimal part: fraction of the day |
| lon | Longitude of the center of mass | degrees |
| lat | Latitude of the center of mass | degrees |
| jcm | Column of the center of mass in the TOOCAN image | Indices of the column |
| icm | Line of the center of mass in the TOOCAN image | Indices of the line |
| velocity | Instantaneous velocity | m/s |
| sminor_220K | Semi-minor axis of the ellipse at a 220K threshold | km |
| smajor_220K | Semi-major axis of the ellipse at a 220K threshold | km |
| e_220K | Eccentricity of the ellipse for a 220K threshold | |
| angle_220K | Orientation of the ellipse at a 220K threshold | ° |
| sminor_235K | Semi-minor axis of the ellipse at a 235K threshold | km |
| smajor_235K | Semi-major axis of the ellipse at a 235K threshold | km |
| e_235K | Eccentricity of the ellipse at a 235K threshold | |
| angle_235K | Orientation of the ellipse at a 235K threshold | ° |
| surf235K_pix | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 235K threshold | number of pixels |
| surf210K_pix | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 210K threshold | number of pixels |
| surf235K_km2 | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 235k threshold | km² |
| surf220K_km2 | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 220k threshold | km² |
| surf210K_km2 | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 210k threshold | km² |
| surf200K_km2 | Cold cloud surface of the convective cluster for a 200k threshold | km² |
The technical aspects of the TOOCAN database can be found in the following documentation: