Daytime measurements of reflected sunlight in the visible spectrum have been a staple of Earth-viewing radiometers since the advent of the environmental satellite platform. At night, these same optical-spectrum sensors have traditionally been limited to thermal infrared emission, which contains relatively poor information content for many OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2013, 5 6718 important weather and climate parameters. These deficiencies have limited our ability to characterize the full diurnal behavior and processes of parameters relevant to improved monitoring, understanding and modeling of weather and climate processes. Visible-spectrum light information does exist during the nighttime hours, originating from a wide variety of sources, but its detection requires specialized technology. Such measurements have existed, in a limited way, on USA Department of Defense satellites, but the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, which carries a new Day/Night Band (DNB) radiometer, offers the first quantitative measurements of nocturnal visible and near-infrared light. Here, we demonstrate the expanded potential for nocturnal low-light visible applications enabled by the DNB. Via a combination of terrestrial and extraterrestrial light sources, such observations are always available-expanding many current existing applications while enabling entirely new capabilities. These novel low-light measurements open doors to a wealth of new interdisciplinary research topics while lighting a pathway toward the optimized design of follow-on satellite based low light visible sensors.

2015: Evaluating environmental impacts on tropical cyclone rapid intensification AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY predictability utilizing statistical models. Wea. Forecasting.

The first observationally based conceptual model for intense pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) development is described by applying reanalyzed meteorological model output to an inventory of 26 intense pyroCb events from June to August 2013 and a control inventory of intense fire activity without pyroCb. Results are based on 88 intense wildfires observed within the western United States and Canada. While surface-based fire weather indices are a useful indicator of intense fire activity, they are not a skillful predictor of intense pyroCb. Development occurs when a layer of increased moisture content and instability is advected over a dry, deep, and unstable mixed layer, typically along the leading edge of an approaching disturbance or under the influence of a monsoonal anticyclone. Upper-tropospheric dynamics are conducive to rising motion and vertical convective development. Mid- and upper-tropospheric conditions therefore resemble those that produce traditional dry thunderstorms. The specific quantity of midlevel moisture and instability required is shown to be strongly dependent on the surface elevation of the contributing fire. Increased thermal buoyancy from large and intense wildfires can serve as a potential trigger, implying that pyroCb occasionally develop in the absence of traditional meteorological triggering mechanisms. This conceptual model suggests that meteorological conditions favorable for pyroCb are observed regularly in western North America. PyroCb and ensuing stratospheric smoke injection are therefore likely to be significant and endemic features of summer climate. Results from this study provide a major step toward improved detection, monitoring, and prediction of pyroCb, which will ultimately enable improved understanding of the role of this phenomenon in the climate system.

Intense wildfires occasionally generate fire-triggered storms, known as pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb), that can inject smoke particles and trace gases into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). This study develops the first pyroCb detection algorithm using three infrared (IR) channels from the imager on board GOES-West (GOES-15). The algorithm first identifies deep convection near active fires via the longwave IR brightness temperature, distinguishing between midtropospheric and UTLS injections. During daytime, unique pyroCb microphysical properties are characterized by a medium-wave brightness temperature that is significantly larger than that in the longwave, allowing for separation of pyroCb from other deep convection. A cloud-opacity test reduces potential false detections. Application of this algorithm to 88 intense wildfires observed during the 2013 fire season in western North America resulted in successful detection of individual intense events, pyroCb embedded within traditional convection, and multiple, short-lived pulses of pyroconvective activity. Comparisons with a community inventory indicate that this algorithm captures the majority of pyroCb. The primary limitation is that pyroCb anvils can be small relative to GOES-West pixel size, especially in regions with large viewing angles. The algorithm is also sensitive to some false positives from traditional convection that either ingests smoke or exhibits extreme updraft velocities. A total of 26 pyroCb events are inventoried, including 31 individual pulses, all of which can inject smoke into the UTLS. Six of the inventoried intense pyroCb were not previously documented. Near-real-time application of this algorithm can be extended to other regions and to next-generation geostationary sensors, which offer significant advantages for pyroCb and fire detection.

[1] We have analyzed observations of clear-sky top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) measured by the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES). These measurements were obtained during March 2005 at night and over the ocean and cover latitudes from 70°N to 70°S. First, we compare the OLR measurements to OLR calculated from two radiative transfer models. The models use as input simultaneous and collocated measurements of atmospheric temperature and atmospheric water vapor made by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). We find excellent agreement between the models' predictions of OLR and observations, well within the uncertainty of the measurements. We also analyze the sensitivity of OLR to changing surface temperature T s , atmospheric temperature T a , and atmospheric water vapor q. We find that OLR is most sensitive to unit changes in T a when that change occurs in the lower troposphere. For q, the altitude distribution of sensitivity varies between the midlatitudes, subtropics, and the convective region. We also partition the observed variations in OLR into contributions from changing T s , T a , and q. In the midlatitudes, changes in T s and T a contribute approximately equally, and are partially offset by changes in q. In the subtropics, changes in T a dominate, with a smaller contribution from changes in T s and a relatively small offsetting contribution from q. In the tropical convective region, a rapid increase in q in the midtroposphere leads to a dramatic reduction in OLR with increasing T s , which has been termed the ''super greenhouse effect''.Citation: Dessler, A. E., P. Yang, J. Lee, J. Solbrig, Z. Zhang, and K. Minschwaner (2008), An analysis of the dependence of clearsky top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation on atmospheric temperature and water vapor,