A Cloud masking algorithm for the XBAER aerosol retrieval using MERIS data

A validation for the resulting cloud mask data products has been undertaken. This comprised i) comparison of regions scenes, which have been manually generated by experts and ii) more global comparison with cloud identification data products from surface synoptic observations (SYNOP) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). As a part of verification and validation, the XBAER-CM results have been shown to be in good agreement with the “manually”-created masks, considered to be the true reference for a set of challenging scenarios. The overall accuracy compared with SYNOP and CALIOP are 84.4% and 83.2%, respectively. The XBAER-CM data product is a standalone data product but valuable for use with algorithms, which retrieve other cloud, aerosol and surface parameters from the measurements of MERIS and the follow on instruments such as Sentinel 3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) now in space.