Global hydrometeor occurrence as observed by CloudSat: Initial observations from summer 2006

Mace, Gerald G.; Marchand, Roger; Zhang, Qiuqing; Stephens, Graeme L.

doi:10.1029/2006gl029017

Cited by 187 publications

(201 citation statements)

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“…The high frequency of this radar makes it very sensitive to the presence of cloud and ice particles (the minimum detectable signal is about −30 dBZ). Reflectivity data used in this study are obtained from the level-2 product 2B-GEOPROF [Mace et al, 2007], which provides vertical profiles of reflectivity corrected for gaseous attenuation. The 2B-GEOPROF product also provides a cloud mask for use in defining where cloud is present.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of aerosol‐induced convective invigoration in the tropical east Atlantic

2014

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Four years of CloudSat data have been analyzed over a region of the east Atlantic Ocean in order to examine the influence of aerosols on deep convection. The satellite data were combined with information about aerosols taken from the Global and Regional Earth-System Monitoring Using Satellite and In Situ Data model. Only those profiles fitting the definition of deep convective clouds were analyzed. Overall, the cloud center of gravity, cloud top, and rain top were all found to increase with increased aerosol loading. These effects were largely independent of the environment, and the differences between the cleanest and most polluted clouds sampled were found to be statistically significant. When examining an even smaller subset of deep convective clouds likely to be part of the convective core, similar trends were seen. These observations suggest that convective invigoration occurs with increased aerosol loading, leading to deeper, stronger storms in polluted environments.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of aerosol‐induced convective invigoration in the tropical east Atlantic

2014

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“…When considering all vertical cloud layers, the fraction of low clouds increases slightly, and slightly more with Radar -Lidar GEOPROF data. As indicated in (Mace et al, 2009), dense aerosol layers may be misidentified as low-level clouds by CALIPSO and there may be a surface contamination in the radar data (Mace et al, 2007), leading to an overestimation of low clouds. Nevertheless, features from the different data sets look quite similar, which indicates that low-level clouds also appear as single layer clouds.…”

Section: Average Cloud Properties From 200to 2008mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cloud profiling radar (CPR) of the CloudSat mission (Stephens et al, 2002;Mace et al, 2007) is capable of probing optically thick cloud layers and therefore provides the correct cloud base. Combined with the information on optically thin cloud layers from CALIOP, these two instruments provide a complete vertical profiling of all clouds.…”

Section: Airs Calipso and L2 Radar-lidar Geoprof Data And Their Collmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission (Winker et al, 2007) is also sensitive to very thin cirrus (such as subvisible cirrus with optical depth down to 0.01) and provides information on multiple cloud layers as long as clouds are optically not too thick. In the latter case, the cloud profiling radar (CPR) of the CloudSat mission (Stephens et al, 2002;Mace et al, 2007) helps to complete the information on vertical cloud layer structure. For this purpose, the Cloudsat Geometrical Profiling Product (GEOPROF; Mace et al, 2007;Marchand et al, 2008) and the CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM, Vaughan et al, 2004) have been merged into a combined Radar-Lidar Geometrical Profile Product (Radar -Lidar GEOPROF; Mace et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the latter case, the cloud profiling radar (CPR) of the CloudSat mission (Stephens et al, 2002;Mace et al, 2007) helps to complete the information on vertical cloud layer structure. For this purpose, the Cloudsat Geometrical Profiling Product (GEOPROF; Mace et al, 2007;Marchand et al, 2008) and the CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM, Vaughan et al, 2004) have been merged into a combined Radar-Lidar Geometrical Profile Product (Radar -Lidar GEOPROF; Mace et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 6-year global cloud climatology from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder AIRS and a statistical analysis in synergy with CALIPSO and CloudSat

et al. 2010

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Abstract. We present a six-year global climatology of cloud properties, obtained from observations of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) onboard the NASA Aqua satellite. Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) combined with CloudSat observations, both missions launched as part of the A-Train in 2006, provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the retrieved AIRS cloud properties such as cloud amount and height. In addition, they permit to explore the vertical structure of different cloud types. AIRS-LMD cloud detection agrees with CALIPSO about 85% over ocean and about 75% over land. Global cloud amount has been estimated from 66% to 74%, depending on the weighting of not cloudy AIRS footprints by partial cloud cover from 0 to 0.3. 42% of all clouds are high clouds, and about 42% of all clouds are single layer low-level clouds. The "radiative" cloud height determined by the AIRS-LMD retrieval corresponds well to the height of the maximum backscatter signal and of the "apparent middle" of the cloud. Whereas the real cloud thickness of high opaque clouds often fills the whole troposphere, their "apparent" cloud thickness (at which optical depth reaches about 5) is on average only 2.5 km. The real geometrical thickness of optically thin cirrus as identified by AIRS-LMD is identical to the "apparent" cloud thickness with an average of about 2.5 km in the tropics and midlatitudes. High clouds in the tropics have slightly more diffusive cloud tops than at higher latitudes. In general, the depth of the maximum backscatter signal increases nearly linearly with increasing "apparent" cloud thickness. For the same "apparent" cloud thicknessCorrespondence to: C. J. Stubenrauch (stubenrauch@lmd.polytechnique.fr) optically thin cirrus show a maximum backscatter about 10% deeper inside the cloud than optically thicker clouds. We also show that only the geometrically thickest opaque clouds and (the probably surrounding anvil) cirrus penetrate the stratosphere in the tropics.

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Liquid-top mixed-phase cloud detection from shortwave-infrared satellite radiometer observations: A physical basis

Miller

Noh

Heidinger

2014

J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.

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Meteorological clouds often exist in the liquid phase at temperatures below 0°C. Traditionally, satellite-derived information on cloud phase comes from narrow bands in the shortwave and thermal infrared, with sensitivity biased strongly toward cloud top. In situ observations suggest an abundance of clouds having supercooled liquid water at their tops but a predominantly ice phase residing below. Satellites may report these clouds simply as supercooled liquid, with no further information regarding the presence of a subcloud top ice phase. Here we describe a physical basis for the detection of liquid-top mixed-phase clouds from passive satellite radiometer observations. The algorithm makes use of reflected sunlight in narrow bands at 1.6 and 2.25 μm to optically probe below liquid-topped clouds and determine phase. Detection is predicated on differential absorption properties between liquid and ice particles, accounting for varying Sun/sensor geometry and cloud optical properties. When tested on numerical weather prediction model simulated cloud fields, the algorithm provided threat scores in the 0.6-0.8 range and false alarm rates in the 0.1-0.2 range. A case study based on surface and satellite observations of liquid-top mixed-phase clouds in northern Alaska was also examined. Preliminary results indicate promising potential for distinction between supercooled liquid-top phase clouds with and without an underlying mixed-phase component.

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Global hydrometeor occurrence as observed by CloudSat: Initial observations from summer 2006

Cited by 187 publications

References 7 publications

Observations of aerosol‐induced convective invigoration in the tropical east Atlantic

Observations of aerosol‐induced convective invigoration in the tropical east Atlantic

A 6-year global cloud climatology from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder AIRS and a statistical analysis in synergy with CALIPSO and CloudSat

Liquid-top mixed-phase cloud detection from shortwave-infrared satellite radiometer observations: A physical basis

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