As our baseline, we used the most up to date and comprehensive cloud retrievals based on spaceborne passive remote sensing measurements. These were compiled, reconciled and made available in the context of the Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment (GEWEX) cloud assessment project (Stubenrauch et al. 2013) of the World Climate Research Program. In addition to retrievals from twelve passive sensors, this project included retrievals from CALIOP made compatible with passive ones between 2006 and 2009. 2007 is the first full year covered by CALIOP, however, as it began operation in June 2006. Apart from the TOVS IR sounder, stopped in 1994, passive retrievals span the 2006-2009 period. Three do not cover the entire period: HIRS (2006, 2008), ISCCP (2006-2007) and POLDER (2006-2008). In order to maximise the number of comparable datasets while having them measure the same atmospheric composition, the present study includes retrievals for 2007 only, when retrievals from ten passive sensors are available. TOVS and HIRS are excluded from the comparison. Moreover, some sensors only allow retrievals in absence of sunlight (ATSR, MISR), while others require it (POLDER). We considered separately daytime and nighttime retrievals so they document the same actual cloud cover. Table 1 describe how sensors contribute to the retrieval comparisons, along with their supporting satellite equator overpass local time. All data was obtained through http://climserv.ipsl.polytechnique.fr/gewexca.
Fig. \ref{fig:fig1} shows the standard deviation of cloud amount (CA) across all retrievals based on nighttime (top) and daytime (bottom) measurements, considering one map of average 2007 CA per sensor. This standard deviation, referred to as inter-sensor standard deviation (ISSD) from now on, is symptomatic of the differences in cloud detection across all considered sensors.
Nighttime passive CA retrievals strongly disagree (ISSD > 0.2, reds in Fig. \ref{fig:fig1}, top) over iced and snowed surfaces (e.g. Greenland, Antarctica and regions partially covered by ice shelves in winter), high elevation (Himalayas, Andes and West U.S.), the mid-section of Africa directly south of the Sahara. Over the ocean passive sensors agree quite well (ISSD < 0.07), especially at mid-latitudes. Exceptions are tropical subsidence areas and directly west of Africa, South America and Australia (ISSD up to ~0.12). Disagreement is generally higher over continents. The same patterns appear in daytime passive CA retrievals (Fig. \ref{fig:fig1}, bottom), although sensors seem to agree more overall, especially over continents, high elevation, and west of continents.