Validation of EarthCARE CPR reflectivity using the ACTRIS cloud radar network

Abstract. The Earth Cloud, Aerosol, and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite carries a cloud profiling radar (CPR) designed to observe global cloud properties. In this study, we assess the calibration of CPR reflectivity profiles by comparing them with seven calibrated ground-based cloud radars from the European Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS).

We compare the statistics of ice cloud reflectivities observed from space and from each ground site. The CPR dataset includes all observations within a 200 km radius of each site, while the ground-based dataset comprises vertical profiles collected during the same time period. By analysing the differences in reflectivity statistics, we estimate the calibration bias between CPR and each site. To ensure robustness, we implement a method to select height bins with comparable reflectivity statistics, excluding uncorrelated observations that could contaminate the results. The reliability of our bias estimates is validated through closure: each ground radar has been calibrated using the same reference, and the independently derived space-versus-ground biases obtained across sites are consistent. Our methodology also provides uncertainty estimates for the reflectivity biases and explores the time sampling required for reliable comparisons.

Based on the comparisons from the seven ground-sites, we find that the bias in the EarthCARE L2a reflectivity product is of -0.2 ± 0.4 dB, confirming the high quality of the satellite's calibration. This robust statistical approach, validated with calibrated radars, establishes EarthCARE as a potential reference for calibrating ACTRIS and other ground-based sites in the future.