Advances in Cloud Satellite Remote Sensing for ARM
| Patrick Minnis | NASA Langley Research Center |
| Louis Nguyen | NASA Langley |
| Fu-Lung Chang | National Institute of Aerospace |
| Rabindra Palikonda | SSAI, NASA Langley Research Center |
| Mandana Khaiyer | Science Systems and Applications, Inc. |
| Qing Trepte | SAIC |
| Chris Yost | Science Systems and Applications, Inc. |
| William Smith | NASA Langley Research Center |
| Szedung Sun-Mack | SAIC |
| Patrick Heck | University of Wisconsin |
| Douglas Spangenberg | Science Systems and Applications, Inc. |
Category: Cloud Properties
Cloud properties have been derived at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Langley Research Center for ARM from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites since 1994. During this period, the algorithms used to determine the cloud amount, height, optical depth, phase, particle size, and water path have progressed due to the use of ARM surface and aircraft data. During the last two years, additional changes developed to take advantage of new spectral channels and satellites should provide a more comprehensive characterization of clouds over the various fixed and variable ARM domains. The 13.3-µm channel on the Goddard Earth Observing System (GOES)-12/13, Meteosat-8/9, and the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) have the capability to enhance the detection and retrieval of high clouds that are missed using the typical 0.65-, 3.9-, and 10.8-µm combination of channels. Furthermore, the addition of the 13.3-µm channel to the old complement enables the use of a new method to detect and retrieve the properties of multi-layered clouds. New ice crystal models that characterize rough-surface ice crystals are now available for use in retrievals. These new models may help reduce errors in cirrus cloud optical depths that have plagued some earlier retrievals. Cloud detection methods have also been refined using combinations of ARM, Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data. The new products based on these advanced detection and retrieval techniques are described along with the new methods. Observations from ARM instruments and satellite sensors are compared with these products to assess their accuracies. These new products will become available to ARM researchers in the coming year.
http://www-angler.larc.nasa.gov/satimage/products.html
This poster will be displayed at ARM Science Team Meeting.
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