Swirp (Submm-Wave and Long Wave Infrared Polarimeter); A New Tool for Investigations of Ice Distribution and Size in Cyrrus Clouds

Wu, Dong L.; Deal, W.R.; Dabrowski, Aaron; Coon, Michael; Chipman, Russell A.; Vega, Manuel A.; Solly, Michael; Marrero, Victor; Hart, Kira A.; Guerrero, Sebastian; Gaines, W.; Toit, Cornelis Du; Amici, Giovanni De

doi:10.1109/igarss.2019.8898230

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“…NASA is currently developing a new generation of compact cloud radiometers, called SWIRP (Sub‐mm Wave and LWIR Polarimeters), to measure cirrus ice properties with conical scanning sub‐mm and IR polarimeters (Wu et al, 2017). The study presented here provides an essential sensitivity evaluation for such an instrument.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity Analyses for the Retrievals of Ice Cloud Properties From Radiometric and Polarimetric Measurements in Sub‐mm/mm and Infrared Bands

et al. 2020

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Simulations of the radiometric and polarimetric properties of ice clouds based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6 ice cloud model (aggregates in conjunction with the gamma distribution) are performed at wavelengths in the Infrared (IR) and Submillimeter/Millimeter (sub‐mm/mm) regimes. The scattering/absorption/polarization properties from the precalculated database are incorporated into a radiative transfer model, the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Model (ARTS). A number of sub‐mm/mm bands have been considered from radiometric and polarimetric studies for potential applications to retrieving ice cloud properties at shorter sub‐mm/mm wavelengths (higher frequencies). The IR atmospheric window has also been thoroughly investigated for its feasibility to observe ice clouds. However, in the literature there is a lack of studies utilizing these high frequency bands or polarimetric IR observations to infer ice cloud properties. This study focuses on performing simulations of ice clouds between 680 and 183 GHz (sub‐mm/mm regime) and between 8.6 and 12 μm wavelengths (IR‐window regime) toward determining potential applications to simultaneous retrievals of ice water path (IWP) and effective diameter (Deff) with a primary focus on optically thin cirrus clouds. IWP and Deff isoline plots (lookup tables) are created to conduct sensitivity analyses and to perform preliminary retrievals. Results reveal that the utilization of both sub‐mm/mm and IR wavelengths combined with linearly polarized and unpolarized measurements leads to the most accurate IWP and Deff retrievals with errors lower than 10%.

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