Articles | Volume 12, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5087-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5087-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Sep 2019
Research article |
| 23 Sep 2019
| 23 Sep 2019
The impact of neglecting ice phase on cloud optical depth retrievals from AERONET cloud mode observations
Jonathan K. P. Shonk
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Meteorology,
University of Reading, Reading, UK
Jui-Yuan Christine Chiu
Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, Colorado, USA
Alexander Marshak
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
David M. Giles
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA
Chiung-Huei Huang
Center for Environmental Monitoring and Technology, National Central
University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Gerald G. Mace
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City, Utah, USA
Sally Benson
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City, Utah, USA
Ilya Slutsker
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA
Brent N. Holben
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
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Guoyong Wen, Alexander Marshak, Si-Chee Tsay, Jay Herman, Ukkyo Jeong, Nader Abuhassan, Robert Swap, and Dong Wu
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Pablo E. Saide, Meng Gao, Zifeng Lu, Daniel L. Goldberg, David G. Streets, Jung-Hun Woo, Andreas Beyersdorf, Chelsea A. Corr, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Bruce Anderson, Johnathan W. Hair, Amin R. Nehrir, Glenn S. Diskin, Jose L. Jimenez, Benjamin A. Nault, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jack Dibb, Eric Heim, Kara D. Lamb, Joshua P. Schwarz, Anne E. Perring, Jhoon Kim, Myungje Choi, Brent Holben, Gabriele Pfister, Alma Hodzic, Gregory R. Carmichael, Louisa Emmons, and James H. Crawford
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Air quality forecasts over the Korean Peninsula captured aerosol optical depth but largely overpredicted surface PM during a Chinese haze transport event. Model deficiency was related to the calculation of optical properties. In order to improve it, aerosol size representation needs to be refined in the calculations, and the representation of aerosol properties, such as size distribution, chemical composition, refractive index, hygroscopicity parameter, and density, needs to be improved.
Samuel E. LeBlanc, Jens Redemann, Connor Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Meloë Kacenelenbogen, Michal Segal-Rosenheimer, Yohei Shinozuka, Stephen Dunagan, Robert P. Dahlgren, Kerry Meyer, James Podolske, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Jennifer Small-Griswold, Brent Holben, Michael Diamond, Robert Wood, Paola Formenti, Stuart Piketh, Gillian Maggs-Kölling, Monja Gerber, and Andreas Namwoonde
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1565–1590, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1565-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1565-2020, 2020
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The southeast Atlantic during August–October experiences layers of smoke from biomass burning over marine stratocumulus clouds. Here we present the light attenuation of the smoke and its dependence in the spatial, vertical, and spectral domain through direct measurements from an airborne platform during September 2016. From our observations of this climatically important smoke, we found an average aerosol optical depth of 0.32 at 500 nm, slightly lower than comparative satellite measurements.
Joel S. Schafer, Tom F. Eck, Brent N. Holben, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Luke D. Ziemba, Patricia Sawamura, Richard H. Moore, Ilya Slutsker, Bruce E. Anderson, Alexander Sinyuk, David M. Giles, Alexander Smirnov, Andreas J. Beyersdorf, and Edward L. Winstead
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5289–5301, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5289-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5289-2019, 2019
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Two independent datasets of column-integrated size distributions of atmospheric aerosols were compared during four 1-month regional campaigns from 2011 to 2014 in four US states. One set of measurements was from observations at multiple locations at the surface using retrievals from sun photometers, while the other relied on in situ aircraft sampling. These campaigns represent the most extensive comparison of AERONET size distributions with aircraft sampling of particle size on record.
Steven D. Miller, Louie D. Grasso, Qijing Bian, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Jack F. Dostalek, Jeremy E. Solbrig, Jennifer Bukowski, Susan C. van den Heever, Yi Wang, Xiaoguang Xu, Jun Wang, Annette L. Walker, Ting-Chi Wu, Milija Zupanski, Christine Chiu, and Jeffrey S. Reid
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5101–5118, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5101-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5101-2019, 2019
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Satellite–based detection of lofted mineral via infrared–window channels, well established in the literature, faces significant challenges in the presence of atmospheric moisture. Here, we consider a case featuring the juxtaposition of two dust plumes embedded within dry and moist air masses. The case is considered from the vantage points of numerical modeling, multi–sensor observations, and radiative transfer theory arriving at a new method for mitigating the water vapor masking effect.
Jonathan K. P. Shonk, Teferi D. Demissie, and Thomas Toniazzo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11383–11399, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11383-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11383-2019, 2019
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Modern climate models are affected by systematic biases that harm their ability to produce reliable seasonal forecasts and climate projections. In this study, we investigate causes of biases in wind patterns over the tropical Atlantic during northern spring in three related models. We find that the wind biases are associated with an increase in excess rainfall and convergence in the tropical western Atlantic at the start of April, leading to the redirection of trade winds away from the Equator.
Myungje Choi, Hyunkwang Lim, Jhoon Kim, Seoyoung Lee, Thomas F. Eck, Brent N. Holben, Michael J. Garay, Edward J. Hyer, Pablo E. Saide, and Hongqing Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4619–4641, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4619-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4619-2019, 2019
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Satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) products have been improved continuously and available from multiple low Earth orbit sensors, such as MODIS, MISR, and VIIRS, and geostationary sensors, such as GOCI and AHI, over East Asia. These multi-satellite AOD products are validated, intercompared, analyzed, and integrated to understand different characteristics, such as quality and spatio-temporal coverage, focused on several aerosol transportation cases during the 2016 KORUS-AQ campaign.
Huizheng Che, Ke Gui, Xiangao Xia, Yaqiang Wang, Brent N. Holben, Philippe Goloub, Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, Hong Wang, Yu Zheng, Hujia Zhao, and Xiaoye Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10497–10523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10497-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10497-2019, 2019
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A comprehensive assessment of the global and regional AOD trends over the past 37 years (1980–2016) is presented. AOD observations from both AERONET and CARSNET were used for the first time to assess the performance of the MERRA-2 AOD dataset on a global scale. Based on statistical models, we found the meteorological parameters explained a larger proportion of the regional AOD variability (20.4 %–2.8 %) when compared with emission factors (0 %%–56 %).
Douglas H. Lowenthal, A. Gannet Hallar, Robert O. David, Ian B. McCubbin, Randolph D. Borys, and Gerald G. Mace
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5387–5401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5387-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5387-2019, 2019
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Snow and liquid cloud particles were measured during the StormVEx and IFRACS programs at Storm Peak Lab to better understand snow formation in wintertime mountain clouds. We found significant interactions between the ice and liquid phases of the cloud. A relationship between large droplet and small ice crystal concentrations suggested snow formation by droplet freezing. Blowing snow can bias surface measurements, but its effect was ambiguous, calling for further work on this issue.
Konstantinos Fragkos, Bogdan Antonescu, David M. Giles, Dragoş Ene, Mihai Boldeanu, Georgios A. Efstathiou, Livio Belegante, and Doina Nicolae
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1979–1997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1979-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1979-2019, 2019
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In this study the quality of the total precipitable water (TPW) retrieved from the newly released AERONET version 3 algorithm is assessed, through comparison with independent measurements of the TPW from a microwave radiometer and radiosondes at a station in southeastern Europe. The findings show that there are improvements in the estimation of TPW in version 3 compared to version 2 of the algorithm.
Yuekui Yang, Kerry Meyer, Galina Wind, Yaping Zhou, Alexander Marshak, Steven Platnick, Qilong Min, Anthony B. Davis, Joanna Joiner, Alexander Vasilkov, David Duda, and Wenying Su
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2019–2031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2019-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2019-2019, 2019
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The physical basis of the EPIC cloud product algorithms and an initial evaluation of their performance are presented. EPIC cloud products include cloud mask, effective height, and optical depth. Comparison with co-located retrievals from geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites shows that the algorithms are performing well and are consistent with theoretical expectations. These products are publicly available at the NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center.
David M. Giles, Alexander Sinyuk, Mikhail G. Sorokin, Joel S. Schafer, Alexander Smirnov, Ilya Slutsker, Thomas F. Eck, Brent N. Holben, Jasper R. Lewis, James R. Campbell, Ellsworth J. Welton, Sergey V. Korkin, and Alexei I. Lyapustin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 169–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-169-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-169-2019, 2019
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Clouds or instrumental anomalies may perturb ground-based solar measurements used to calculate aerosol optical depth (AOD). This study presents a new algorithm of automated near-real-time (NRT) quality controls with improved cloud screening for AERONET AOD measurements. Results from the new and old algorithms have excellent agreement for the highest-quality AOD level, while the new algorithm provides higher-quality NRT AOD for applications such as data assimilation and satellite evaluation.
Yingxi R. Shi, Robert C. Levy, Thomas F. Eck, Brad Fisher, Shana Mattoo, Lorraine A. Remer, Ilya Slutsker, and Jianglong Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 259–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-259-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-259-2019, 2019
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The Indonesian fire and smoke event of 2015 was an extreme episode that affected public health and caused severe economic and environmental damage. We managed to retrieve data over very thick smoke plumes and produce a lot more high aerosol loading data that were previously missed by other satellite products. These results will benefit varieties of downstream research that use the satellite aerosol data and will influence the future development of the global satellite aerosol algorithm.
Carlos Toledano, Ramiro González, David Fuertes, Emilio Cuevas, Thomas F. Eck, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Julian Gröbner, Philippe Goloub, Luc Blarel, Roberto Román, África Barreto, Alberto Berjón, Brent N. Holben, and Victoria E. Cachorro
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14555–14567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14555-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14555-2018, 2018
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Most of the ground-based radiometric networks have their reference instruments and/or calibrate them at Mauna Loa or Izaña. The suitability of these high-mountain stations for absolute radiometric calibrations is investigated with the support of 20 years of first-class Sun photometer data from the AERONET and GAW-PFR networks. We analyze the number of calibration days at each site in a climatological sense and investigate the uncertainty of the calibrations based on long-term statistics.
Jay Herman, Guoyong Wen, Alexander Marshak, Karin Blank, Liang Huang, Alexander Cede, Nader Abuhassan, and Matthew Kowalewski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4373–4388, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4373-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4373-2018, 2018
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The DSCOVR/EPIC instrument located near the Lagrange 1 Earth–Sun gravitational balance point is able to view the entire sunlit disk of the Earth. This means that during the eclipse of 21 August 2017 EPIC was able to see the region of totality and the much larger region of partial eclipse. Because of this, EPIC is able to measure the global reduction of reflected solar flux. For the wavelength range 388 to 780 nm, we estimated a 10 % reduction in reflected radiation.
Jungbin Mok, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Omar Torres, Hiren Jethva, Zhanqing Li, Jhoon Kim, Ja-Ho Koo, Sujung Go, Hitoshi Irie, Gordon Labow, Thomas F. Eck, Brent N. Holben, Jay Herman, Robert P. Loughman, Elena Spinei, Seoung Soo Lee, Pradeep Khatri, and Monica Campanelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2295–2311, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2295-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2295-2018, 2018
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Measuring aerosol absorption from the shortest ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths is important for studies of climate, tropospheric photochemistry, human health, and agricultural productivity. We estimate the accuracy and demonstrate consistency of aerosol absorption retrievals from different instruments, after accounting for spectrally varying surface albedo and gaseous absorption.
Jake J. Gristey, J. Christine Chiu, Robert J. Gurney, Cyril J. Morcrette, Peter G. Hill, Jacqueline E. Russell, and Helen E. Brindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5129–5145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, 2018
Brent N. Holben, Jhoon Kim, Itaru Sano, Sonoyo Mukai, Thomas F. Eck, David M. Giles, Joel S. Schafer, Aliaksandr Sinyuk, Ilya Slutsker, Alexander Smirnov, Mikhail Sorokin, Bruce E. Anderson, Huizheng Che, Myungje Choi, James H. Crawford, Richard A. Ferrare, Michael J. Garay, Ukkyo Jeong, Mijin Kim, Woogyung Kim, Nichola Knox, Zhengqiang Li, Hwee S. Lim, Yang Liu, Hal Maring, Makiko Nakata, Kenneth E. Pickering, Stuart Piketh, Jens Redemann, Jeffrey S. Reid, Santo Salinas, Sora Seo, Fuyi Tan, Sachchida N. Tripathi, Owen B. Toon, and Qingyang Xiao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 655–671, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-655-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-655-2018, 2018
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Aerosol particles, such as smoke, vary over space and time. This paper describes a series of very high-resolution ground-based aerosol measurement networks and associated studies that contributed new understanding of aerosol processes and detailed comparisons to satellite aerosol validation. Significantly, these networks also provide an opportunity to statistically relate grab samples of an aerosol parameter to companion satellite observations, a step toward air quality assessment from space.
Igor V. Geogdzhayev and Alexander Marshak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 359–368, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-359-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-359-2018, 2018
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The unique Earth view of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) orbiting at the point of equal attraction from the Earth and the Sun can significantly augment the low-orbit remote sensing of aerosols, clouds and gases. We derive the relationship between the digital counts and the reflected sunlight intensity for some EPIC channels using collocated Earth views from EPIC and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and EPIC moon views.
Myungje Choi, Jhoon Kim, Jaehwa Lee, Mijin Kim, Young-Je Park, Brent Holben, Thomas F. Eck, Zhengqiang Li, and Chul H. Song
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 385–408, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-385-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-385-2018, 2018
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This study is a major version upgrade of the aerosol product from GOCI, the first and unique ocean color imager in geostationary earth orbit. It describes the improvement of version 2 of the GOCI Yonsei aerosol retrieval algorithm for near-real-time processing with improved accuracy from the modification of cloud masking, surface reflectance, etc. The product is validated against AERONET/SONET over East Asia with analyses of various errors features, and a pixel-level uncertainty is calculated.
Chaeyoon Cho, Sang-Woo Kim, Maheswar Rupakheti, Jin-Soo Park, Arnico Panday, Soon-Chang Yoon, Ji-Hyoung Kim, Hyunjae Kim, Haeun Jeon, Minyoung Sung, Bong Mann Kim, Seungkyu K. Hong, Rokjin J. Park, Dipesh Rupakheti, Khadak Singh Mahata, Puppala Siva Praveen, Mark G. Lawrence, and Brent Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 12617–12632, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12617-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12617-2017, 2017
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We investigated the optical and chemical properties and direct radiative effects of aerosols in the Kathmandu Valley. We concluded that the ratio of light-absorbing to scattering aerosols as well as the concentration of light-absorbing aerosols is much higher at Kathmandu than other comparable regions, and it contributes to a great atmospheric absorption efficiency. This study provides unprecedented insights into aerosol optical properties and their radiative forcings in the Kathmandu Valley.
Shannon L. Mason, J. Christine Chiu, Robin J. Hogan, and Lin Tian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11567–11589, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11567-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11567-2017, 2017
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Airborne Doppler radar measurements are used to estimate the properties of tropical stratiform rain. Doppler velocity measurements provide sufficient information to estimate the rain rate over land and also to retrieve the raindrop size distribution over ocean, addressing major uncertainties in current satellite measurements of rain. These results suggest that EarthCARE, with the first space-borne Doppler radar, will facilitate improved global measurements of rain.
Yinghui Liu, Matthew D. Shupe, Zhien Wang, and Gerald Mace
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5973–5989, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5973-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5973-2017, 2017
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Detailed and accurate vertical distributions of cloud properties are essential to accurately calculate the surface radiative flux and to depict the mean climate state, and such information is more desirable in the Arctic due to its recent rapid changes and the challenging observation conditions. This study presents a feasible way to provide such information by blending cloud observations from surface and space-based instruments with the understanding of their respective strength and limitations.
Tatiana B. Zhuravleva, Dmitriy M. Kabanov, Ilmir M. Nasrtdinov, Tatiana V. Russkova, Sergey M. Sakerin, Alexander Smirnov, and Brent N. Holben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 179–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-179-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-179-2017, 2017
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Aerosol properties were studied during a mega-fire event in summer 2012 over Siberia using ground-based measurements of spectral solar radiation at the AERONET site in Tomsk and satellite observations. The data were analysed using multi-year measurements under background conditions and yearly observed wildfires. It is shown that the aerosol radiation characteristics during individual severe fires differ significantly from the ensemble smoke hazes which are typical for the Siberian region.
Itaru Sano, Sonoyo Mukai, Makiko Nakata, and Brent N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14795–14803, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14795-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14795-2016, 2016
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We investigated the regional and local variation of aerosols based on large and small gridded sun photometer networks. The results show that long-range transboundary aerosols strongly affect aerosol condition over Japan even at a small island in the East China Sea. A dense instrument network (DRAGON) reveals the magnitude and variation of local aerosols.
Jeffrey S. Reid, Peng Xian, Brent N. Holben, Edward J. Hyer, Elizabeth A. Reid, Santo V. Salinas, Jianglong Zhang, James R. Campbell, Boon Ning Chew, Robert E. Holz, Arunas P. Kuciauskas, Nofel Lagrosas, Derek J. Posselt, Charles R. Sampson, Annette L. Walker, E. Judd Welton, and Chidong Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14041–14056, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14041-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14041-2016, 2016
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This paper describes aspects of the 2012 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period, the largest within the Maritime Continent. Included were an enhanced deployment of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun photometers, multiple lidars, and a Singapore supersite. Simultaneously, a ship was dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012 to observe transported smoke and pollution as it entered the southwest monsoon trough.
Jeffrey S. Reid, Nofel D. Lagrosas, Haflidi H. Jonsson, Elizabeth A. Reid, Samuel A. Atwood, Thomas J. Boyd, Virendra P. Ghate, Peng Xian, Derek J. Posselt, James B. Simpas, Sherdon N. Uy, Kimo Zaiger, Donald R. Blake, Anthony Bucholtz, James R. Campbell, Boon Ning Chew, Steven S. Cliff, Brent N. Holben, Robert E. Holz, Edward J. Hyer, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Arunas P. Kuciauskas, Simone Lolli, Min Oo, Kevin D. Perry, Santo V. Salinas, Walter R. Sessions, Alexander Smirnov, Annette L. Walker, Qing Wang, Liya Yu, Jianglong Zhang, and Yongjing Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14057–14078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14057-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14057-2016, 2016
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This paper describes aspects of the 2012 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period, the largest within the Maritime Continent. Included were an enhanced deployment of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun photometers, multiple lidars, and a Singapore supersite. Simultaneously, a ship was dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012 to observe transported smoke and pollution as it entered the southwest monsoon trough.
Graydon Snider, Crystal L. Weagle, Kalaivani K. Murdymootoo, Amanda Ring, Yvonne Ritchie, Emily Stone, Ainsley Walsh, Clement Akoshile, Nguyen Xuan Anh, Rajasekhar Balasubramanian, Jeff Brook, Fatimah D. Qonitan, Jinlu Dong, Derek Griffith, Kebin He, Brent N. Holben, Ralph Kahn, Nofel Lagrosas, Puji Lestari, Zongwei Ma, Amit Misra, Leslie K. Norford, Eduardo J. Quel, Abdus Salam, Bret Schichtel, Lior Segev, Sachchida Tripathi, Chien Wang, Chao Yu, Qiang Zhang, Yuxuan Zhang, Michael Brauer, Aaron Cohen, Mark D. Gibson, Yang Liu, J. Vanderlei Martins, Yinon Rudich, and Randall V. Martin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9629–9653, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9629-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9629-2016, 2016
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We examine the chemical composition of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) collected on filters at traditionally undersampled, globally dispersed urban locations. Several PM2.5 chemical components (e.g. ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and black carbon) vary by more than an order of magnitude between sites while aerosol hygroscopicity varies by a factor of 2. Enhanced anthropogenic dust fractions in large urban areas are apparent from high Zn : Al ratios.
Makiko Nakata, Itaru Sano, Sonoyo Mukai, and Brent N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2016-182, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2016-182, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We document the spatial and temporal variations of atmospheric aerosols in East Asia, specifically focusing on the NASA/AERONET-Osaka site in March 2012 during the AERONET “DRAGON-Japan” campaign. It has been shown that airborne pollutants can influence both the local atmosphere near to their source and relatively remote locations due to long-range transportation.
Myungje Choi, Jhoon Kim, Jaehwa Lee, Mijin Kim, Young-Je Park, Ukkyo Jeong, Woogyung Kim, Hyunkee Hong, Brent Holben, Thomas F. Eck, Chul H. Song, Jae-Hyun Lim, and Chang-Keun Song
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1377–1398, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1377-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1377-2016, 2016
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The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the first ocean color sensor in geostationary orbit. It enables hourly aerosol optical properties to be observed in high spatial resolution. This study presents improvements of the GOCI Yonsei Aerosol Retrieval (YAER) algorithm and its validation results using ground-based and other satellite-based observation products during DRAGON-NE Asia 2012 Campaign. Retrieval errors are also analyzed according to various factors through the validation studies.
Anatoli Chaikovsky, Oleg Dubovik, Brent Holben, Andrey Bril, Philippe Goloub, Didier Tanré, Gelsomina Pappalardo, Ulla Wandinger, Ludmila Chaikovskaya, Sergey Denisov, Jan Grudo, Anton Lopatin, Yana Karol, Tatsiana Lapyonok, Vassilis Amiridis, Albert Ansmann, Arnoud Apituley, Lucas Allados-Arboledas, Ioannis Binietoglou, Antonella Boselli, Giuseppe D'Amico, Volker Freudenthaler, David Giles, María José Granados-Muñoz, Panayotis Kokkalis, Doina Nicolae, Sergey Oshchepkov, Alex Papayannis, Maria Rita Perrone, Alexander Pietruczuk, Francesc Rocadenbosch, Michaël Sicard, Ilya Slutsker, Camelia Talianu, Ferdinando De Tomasi, Alexandra Tsekeri, Janet Wagner, and Xuan Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1181–1205, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1181-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1181-2016, 2016
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This paper presents a detailed description of LIRIC (LIdar-Radiometer Inversion Code) algorithm for simultaneous processing of coincident lidar and radiometric observations for the retrieval of the aerosol concentrations. As the lidar/radiometric input data we use measurements from European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) lidars and collocated sun-photometers of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). The LIRIC software package was implemented and tested at a number of EARLINET stations.
África Barreto, Emilio Cuevas, María-José Granados-Muñoz, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Pedro M. Romero, Julian Gröbner, Natalia Kouremeti, Antonio F. Almansa, Tom Stone, Carlos Toledano, Roberto Román, Mikhail Sorokin, Brent Holben, Marius Canini, and Margarita Yela
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 631–654, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-631-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-631-2016, 2016
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This paper presents the new photometer CE318-T, able to perform daytime and
night-time photometric measurements using the sun and the moon as light
sources. This new device permits a complete cycle of diurnal aerosol and water vapour measurements to be extracted, valuable to enhance atmospheric monitoring. We have also highlighted the ability of this new device to capture short-term atmospheric variations, critical for climate studies.
M. Kim, J. Kim, U. Jeong, W. Kim, H. Hong, B. Holben, T. F. Eck, J. H. Lim, C. K. Song, S. Lee, and C.-Y. Chung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1789–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1789-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1789-2016, 2016
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An aerosol model optimized for East Asia is improved by applying inversion data from the DRAGON-NE Asia 2012 campaign, and is applied to an AOD retrieval algorithm using single visible measurements from a GEO satellite. In sensitivity tests, a 4 % overestimation in SSA can cause an underestimation in AOD of over 20 %. In accordance with the test, the overestimating tendency of AOD was improved by 8 % after the modification of the aerosol model.
G. L. Schuster, O. Dubovik, A. Arola, T. F. Eck, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1587–1602, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1587-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1587-2016, 2016
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Some authors have recently suggested that the spectral dependence of aerosol absorption may be used to separate soot carbon absorption from the aerosol absorption associated with organic carbon and dust. We demonstrate that this approach is inconsistent with the underlying assumptions that are required to infer aerosol absorption through remote sensing techniques, and that carbonaceous aerosols can not be differentiated from dust by exclusively using spectral absorption signatures.
Q. Xiao, H. Zhang, M. Choi, S. Li, S. Kondragunta, J. Kim, B. Holben, R. C. Levy, and Y. Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1255–1269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1255-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1255-2016, 2016
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Using ground AOD measurements from AERONET, DRAGON-Asia Campaign, and handheld sunphotometers, we evaluated emerging aerosol products from VIIRS, GOCI, and Terra and Aqua MODIS (Collection 6) in East Asia in 2012–2013. We found that satellite aerosol products performed better in tracking the day-to-day variability than the high-resolution spatial variability. VIIRS EDR and GOCI products provided the most accurate AOD retrievals, while VIIRS IP and MODIS C6 3 km products had positive biases.
U. Jeong, J. Kim, C. Ahn, O. Torres, X. Liu, P. K. Bhartia, R. J. D. Spurr, D. Haffner, K. Chance, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 177–193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-177-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-177-2016, 2016
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An aerosol retrieval and error analysis algorithm using OMI measurements based on an optimal-estimation method was developed in this study. The aerosol retrievals were validated using the DRAGON campaign products. The estimated errors of the retrievals represented the actual biases between retrieval and AERONET measurements well. The retrievals, with their estimated uncertainties, are expected to be valuable for relevant studies, such as trace gas retrieval and data assimilation.
D. Pérez-Ramírez, I. Veselovskii, D. N. Whiteman, A. Suvorina, M. Korenskiy, A. Kolgotin, B. Holben, O. Dubovik, A. Siniuk, and L. Alados-Arboledas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3117–3133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3117-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3117-2015, 2015
H. Che, X.-Y. Zhang, X. Xia, P. Goloub, B. Holben, H. Zhao, Y. Wang, X.-C. Zhang, H. Wang, L. Blarel, B. Damiri, R. Zhang, X. Deng, Y. Ma, T. Wang, F. Geng, B. Qi, J. Zhu, J. Yu, Q. Chen, and G. Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7619–7652, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7619-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7619-2015, 2015
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This work studied more than 10 years of measurements of aerosol optical depths (AODs) made for 50 sites of CARSNET compiled into a climatology of aerosol optical properties for China. It lets us see a detailed full-scale description of AOD observations over China. The results would benefit us a lot in comprehending the temporal and special distribution aerosol optical property over China. Also the data would be valuable to communities of aerosol satellite retrieval, modelling, etc.
M. D. Fielding, J. C. Chiu, R. J. Hogan, G. Feingold, E. Eloranta, E. J. O'Connor, and M. P. Cadeddu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2663–2683, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2663-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2663-2015, 2015
F. Tan, H. S. Lim, K. Abdullah, T. L. Yoon, and B. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3755–3771, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3755-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3755-2015, 2015
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Southeast Asia stands out globally, as it hosts one of the most complex meteorological and environmental conditions, making remote sensing difficult both for AERONET and satellites. Cloud-cleared data leave gaps in our remote sensing data record, and conversely, residual cloud contamination of remotely sensed data causes challenging tasks for scientists studying aerosols. With the main motivation of overcoming this problem, an AOD-predicting model is proposed.
K. Knobelspiesse, B. van Diedenhoven, A. Marshak, S. Dunagan, B. Holben, and I. Slutsker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1537–1554, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1537-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1537-2015, 2015
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We test if ground-based sun photometers/radiometers like those in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) can use the polarization sensitivity of some instruments for improved cloud optical property retrieval. Our radiative transfer simulations show that the direction of linear polarization indicates cloud thermodynamic phase for optically thin clouds. In practice, data analysis shows a weak response with AERONET instruments, most likely due to noise and orientation/calibration ambiguity.
J. S. Reid, N. D. Lagrosas, H. H. Jonsson, E. A. Reid, W. R. Sessions, J. B. Simpas, S. N. Uy, T. J. Boyd, S. A. Atwood, D. R. Blake, J. R. Campbell, S. S. Cliff, B. N. Holben, R. E. Holz, E. J. Hyer, P. Lynch, S. Meinardi, D. J. Posselt, K. A. Richardson, S. V. Salinas, A. Smirnov, Q. Wang, L. Yu, and J. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1745–1768, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1745-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1745-2015, 2015
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This paper reports on the first measurements of aerosol particles embedded in the convectively active southwest monsoonal flow of the South China Sea. The paper describes the research cruise and discusses how variability in aerosol characteristics relates to regional meteorological phenomena such as and the Madden Julian Oscillation, tropical cyclones, squall lines and the monsoonal flow itself. Of special interest is how aerosol transport relates to meteorological drivers of convective activity.
I. Veselovskii, D. N Whiteman, M. Korenskiy, A. Suvorina, A. Kolgotin, A. Lyapustin, Y. Wang, M. Chin, H. Bian, T. L. Kucsera, D. Pérez-Ramírez, and B. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1647–1660, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1647-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1647-2015, 2015
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The multi-wavelength lidar technique was applied to the study of a smoke event near Washington, DC on 26-28 August 2013. Satellite observations combined with transport model predictions imply that the smoke plume originated mainly from Wyoming/Idaho forest fires. The NASA GSFC multi-wavelength Mie-Raman lidar was used to profile the smoke particle parameters such as volume density, effective radius and the real part of the refractive index.
G. Snider, C. L. Weagle, R. V. Martin, A. van Donkelaar, K. Conrad, D. Cunningham, C. Gordon, M. Zwicker, C. Akoshile, P. Artaxo, N. X. Anh, J. Brook, J. Dong, R. M. Garland, R. Greenwald, D. Griffith, K. He, B. N. Holben, R. Kahn, I. Koren, N. Lagrosas, P. Lestari, Z. Ma, J. Vanderlei Martins, E. J. Quel, Y. Rudich, A. Salam, S. N. Tripathi, C. Yu, Q. Zhang, Y. Zhang, M. Brauer, A. Cohen, M. D. Gibson, and Y. Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-505-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-505-2015, 2015
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We have initiated a global network of ground-level monitoring stations to measure concentrations of fine aerosols in urban environments. Our findings include major ions species, total mass, and total scatter at three wavelengths. Results will be used to further evaluate and enhance satellite remote sensing estimates.
S. Seo, J. Kim, H. Lee, U. Jeong, W. Kim, B. N. Holben, S.-W. Kim, C. H. Song, and J. H. Lim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 319–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-319-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-319-2015, 2015
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The estimation of PM10 from optical measurement of AERONET and MODIS by various empirical models was evaluated for the DRAGON-Asia campaign. The results showed the importance of boundary layer height (BLH) and effective radius (Reff) in estimating PM10. The highest correlation between the estimated and measured values was found to be 0.81 in winter due to the stagnant air mass and low BLH, while the poorest values were 0.54 in spring due to the influence of long-range transport above BLH.
T. F. Eck, B. N. Holben, J. S. Reid, A. Arola, R. A. Ferrare, C. A. Hostetler, S. N. Crumeyrolle, T. A. Berkoff, E. J. Welton, S. Lolli, A. Lyapustin, Y. Wang, J. S. Schafer, D. M. Giles, B. E. Anderson, K. L. Thornhill, P. Minnis, K. E. Pickering, C. P. Loughner, A. Smirnov, and A. Sinyuk
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11633–11656, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11633-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11633-2014, 2014
A. M. Sayer, N. C. Hsu, T. F. Eck, A. Smirnov, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11493–11523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11493-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11493-2014, 2014
P. Sawamura, D. Müller, R. M. Hoff, C. A. Hostetler, R. A. Ferrare, J. W. Hair, R. R. Rogers, B. E. Anderson, L. D. Ziemba, A. J. Beyersdorf, K. L. Thornhill, E. L. Winstead, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3095–3112, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3095-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3095-2014, 2014
J. C. Chiu, J. A. Holmes, R. J. Hogan, and E. J. O'Connor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8389–8401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8389-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8389-2014, 2014
R. P. Aryal, K. J. Voss, P. A. Terman, W. C. Keene, J. L. Moody, E. J. Welton, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7617–7629, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7617-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7617-2014, 2014
M. Chin, T. Diehl, Q. Tan, J. M. Prospero, R. A. Kahn, L. A. Remer, H. Yu, A. M. Sayer, H. Bian, I. V. Geogdzhayev, B. N. Holben, S. G. Howell, B. J. Huebert, N. C. Hsu, D. Kim, T. L. Kucsera, R. C. Levy, M. I. Mishchenko, X. Pan, P. K. Quinn, G. L. Schuster, D. G. Streets, S. A. Strode, O. Torres, and X.-P. Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3657–3690, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3657-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3657-2014, 2014
H. Che, X. Xia, J. Zhu, Z. Li, O. Dubovik, B. Holben, P. Goloub, H. Chen, V. Estelles, E. Cuevas-Agulló, L. Blarel, H. Wang, H. Zhao, X. Zhang, Y. Wang, J. Sun, R. Tao, X. Zhang, and G. Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2125–2138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2125-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2125-2014, 2014
M. E. Park, C. H. Song, R. S. Park, J. Lee, J. Kim, S. Lee, J.-H. Woo, G. R. Carmichael, T. F. Eck, B. N. Holben, S.-S. Lee, C. K. Song, and Y. D. Hong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 659–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-659-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-659-2014, 2014
J. L. Moody, W. C. Keene, O. R. Cooper, K. J. Voss, R. Aryal, S. Eckhardt, B. Holben, J. R. Maben, M. A. Izaguirre, and J. N. Galloway
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 691–717, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-691-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-691-2014, 2014
Y. Choi, Y. S. Ghim, and B. N. Holben
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-13-26627-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-13-26627-2013, 2013
Revised manuscript not accepted
L. A. Munchak, R. C. Levy, S. Mattoo, L. A. Remer, B. N. Holben, J. S. Schafer, C. A. Hostetler, and R. A. Ferrare
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1747–1759, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1747-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1747-2013, 2013
T. Várnai, A. Marshak, and W. Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3899–3908, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3899-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3899-2013, 2013
M. Antón, L. Alados-Arboledas, J. L. Guerrero-Rascado, M. J. Costa, J. C Chiu, and F. J. Olmo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11723–11732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11723-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11723-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Attribution of riming and aggregation processes by application of the vertical distribution of particle shape (VDPS) and spectral retrieval techniques to cloud radar observations
Factors limiting contrail detection in satellite imagery
Evaluating spectral cloud effective radius retrievals from the Enhanced MODIS Airborne Simulator (eMAS) during ORACLES
Optimizing cloud optical parameterizations in RTTOV for data assimilation of satellite visible reflectance data: an assessment using observed and synthetic images
Errors in stereoscopic retrievals of cloud top height for single-layer clouds
A method to retrieve mixed phase cloud vertical structure from airborne lidar
Consideration of the cloud motion for aircraft-based stereographically derived cloud geometry and cloud top heights
Exploring the characteristics of Fengyun-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI) visible reflectance using the China Meteorological Administration Mesoscale (CMA-MESO) forecasts and its implications for data assimilation
Validating global horizontal irradiance retrievals from Meteosat SEVIRI at increased spatial resolution against a dense network of ground-based observations
Effectiveness of Cirrus Detection with MODIS Cloud Mask data
Assessment and application of melting layer simulations for spaceborne radars within the RTTOV-SCATT v13.1 model
Synergistic approach of frozen hydrometeor retrievals: considerations on radiative transfer and model uncertainties in a simulated framework
An evaluation of microphysics in a numerical model using Doppler velocity measured by ground-based radar for application to the EarthCARE satellite
Investigation of cirrus cloud properties in the tropical tropopause layer using high-altitude limb-scanning near-IR spectroscopy during NASA-ATTREX
Comparing FY-2F/CTA products to ground-based manual total cloud cover observations in Xinjiang under complex underlying surfaces and different weather conditions
Model-based evaluation of cloud geometry and droplet size retrievals from two-dimensional polarized measurements of specMACS
Improved RepVGG ground-based cloud image classification with attention convolution
An intercomparison of EarthCARE cloud, aerosol, and precipitation retrieval products
First results of cloud retrieval from the Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer
Thundercloud structures detected and analyzed based on coherent Doppler wind lidar
Assessing Arctic low-level clouds and precipitation from above – a radar perspective
What CloudSat cannot see: liquid water content profiles inferred from MODIS and CALIOP observations
Validation of the Cloud_CCI (Cloud Climate Change Initiative) cloud products in the Arctic
The Education and Research 3D Radiative Transfer Toolbox (EaR3T) – towards the mitigation of 3D bias in airborne and spaceborne passive imagery cloud retrievals
Retrieval of microphysical parameters of monsoonal rain using X-band dual-polarization radar: their seasonal dependence and evaluation
Consistency test of precipitating ice cloud retrieval properties obtained from the observations of different instruments operating at Dome C (Antarctica)
Sizing ice hydrometeor populations using the dual-wavelength radar ratio
Impact of the revisit frequency on cloud climatology for CALIPSO, EarthCARE, Aeolus, and ICESat-2 satellite lidar missions
The impact of sampling strategy on the cloud droplet number concentration estimated from satellite data
Horizontal geometry of trade wind cumuli – aircraft observations from a shortwave infrared imager versus a radar profiler
Evaluating the consistency and continuity of pixel-scale cloud property data records from Aqua and SNPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership)
Quality assessment of Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI)-observed cloud properties using SKYNET surface observation data
Comparison of scattering ratio profiles retrieved from ALADIN/Aeolus and CALIOP/CALIPSO observations and preliminary estimates of cloud fraction profiles
Evaluation of convective cloud microphysics in numerical weather prediction models with dual-wavelength polarimetric radar observations: methods and examples
Synergistic radar and sub-millimeter radiometer retrievals of ice hydrometeors in mid-latitude frontal cloud systems
Evaluation of satellite retrievals of liquid clouds from the GOES-13 imager and MODIS over the midlatitude North Atlantic during the NAAMES campaign
Evaluation of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) neural network cloud detection against current operational cloud masks
The effect of low-level thin arctic clouds on shortwave irradiance: evaluation of estimates from spaceborne passive imagery with aircraft observations
Validation of the Sentinel-5 Precursor TROPOMI cloud data with Cloudnet, Aura OMI O2–O2, MODIS, and Suomi-NPP VIIRS
Dissecting effects of orbital drift of polar-orbiting satellites on accuracy and trends of climate data records of cloud fractional cover
Calibration of global MODIS cloud amount using CALIOP cloud profiles
Evaluation of the MODIS Collection 6 multilayer cloud detection algorithm through comparisons with CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar and CALIPSO CALIOP products
An extended radar relative calibration adjustment (eRCA) technique for higher-frequency radars and range–height indicator (RHI) scans
Comparing lightning observations of the ground-based European lightning location system EUCLID and the space-based Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS)
Microwave and submillimeter wave scattering of oriented ice particles
Shallow cumuli cover and its uncertainties from ground-based lidar–radar data and sky images
Using passive and active observations at microwave and sub-millimetre wavelengths to constrain ice particle models
Comparison of the cloud top heights retrieved from MODIS and AHI satellite data with ground-based Ka-band radar
Cross-comparison of cloud liquid water path derived from observations by two space-borne and one ground-based instrument in northern Europe
Diurnal and nocturnal cloud segmentation of all-sky imager (ASI) images using enhancement fully convolutional networks
Audrey Teisseire, Anne-Claire Billault-Roux, Teresa Vogl, and Patric Seifert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1499–1517, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1499-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1499-2025, 2025
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This study demonstrates the ability of a new method delivering the vertical distribution of particle shape to highlight riming and aggregation processes, identifying graupel and aggregates, respectively, as isometric particles. The distinction between these processes can be achieved using lidar or spectral techniques, as demonstrated in the case studies. The capability of the new method to identify rimed particles and aggregates without differentiating them can simplify statistical work.
Oliver G. A. Driver, Marc E. J. Stettler, and Edward Gryspeerdt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1115–1134, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1115-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1115-2025, 2025
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Contrails (clouds caused by planes) play a large role in the climate warming caused by aviation. Satellites are a good tool to validate modelled impact estimates. Many contrails are either too narrow or too disperse to detect. This work shows that only around half of contrails are observable but that the most climatically important are easier to detect. It supports the use of satellites for contrail observation but highlights the need for observability considerations for specific applications.
Kerry Meyer, Steven Platnick, G. Thomas Arnold, Nandana Amarasinghe, Daniel Miller, Jennifer Small-Griswold, Mikael Witte, Brian Cairns, Siddhant Gupta, Greg McFarquhar, and Joseph O'Brien
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 981–1011, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-981-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-981-2025, 2025
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Satellite remote sensing retrievals of cloud droplet size are used to understand clouds and their interactions with aerosols and radiation but require many simplifying assumptions. Evaluation of these retrievals is typically done by comparing against direct measurements of droplets from airborne cloud probes. This paper details an evaluation of proxy airborne remote sensing droplet size retrievals against several cloud probes and explores the impact of key assumptions on retrieval agreement.
Yongbo Zhou, Tianrui Cao, and Lijian Zhu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-242, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-242, 2025
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Different Cloud Optical Parameterizations (COPs) in RTTOV are evaluated by the comparing the observed and synthetic satellite images. The optimal COP for liquid water cloud is parameterized in terms of effective diameter (Deff) in combination with the COP for ice cloud developed by the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), with the Deff for ice cloud parameterized in terms of ice water content and temperature. The findings will benefit the remote sensing and data assimilation community.
Jesse Loveridge and Larry Di Girolamo
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-20, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-20, 2025
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Stereoscopic techniques are useful for measuring cloud geometry from space. However, clouds are transparent and often have tenuous boundaries. We evaluate the effect of this using numerical simulations. We find that stereoscopy tends to retrieve a cloud boundary that is interior to the true shape by around 100 m and is smoother, depending on the cloud shape and resolution of the instrument. This error is similar across views, highlighting the strength of stereoscopy for change detection.
Ewan Crosbie, Johnathan Hair, Amin Nehrir, Richard Ferrare, Chris Hostetler, Taylor Shingler, David Harper, Marta Fenn, James Collins, Rory Barton-Grimley, Brian Collister, K. Lee Thornhill, Christiane Voigt, Simon Kirschler, and Armin Sorooshian
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3844, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3844, 2024
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A method was developed to extract information from airborne lidar observations about the distribution of ice and liquid water within clouds. The method specifically targets signatures of horizontal and vertical gradients in ice and water that appear in the polarization of the lidar signals. The method was tested against direct measurements of the cloud properties collected by a second aircraft.
Lea Volkmer, Tobias Kölling, Tobias Zinner, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6807–6817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6807-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6807-2024, 2024
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The importance of the consideration of cloud motion for the stereographic determination of cloud top height from aircraft observations is demonstrated using measurements of the airborne spectrometer of the Munich Aerosol Cloud Scanner (specMACS). A method for cloud motion correction using model winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is presented and validated using both real measurements and realistic radiative transfer simulations.
Yongbo Zhou, Yubao Liu, Wei Han, Yuefei Zeng, Haofei Sun, Peilong Yu, and Lijian Zhu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6659–6675, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6659-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6659-2024, 2024
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The study explored differences between the visible reflectance provided by the Fengyun-4A satellite and its equivalent derived from the China Meteorological Administration Mesoscale model using a forward operator. The observation-minus-simulation biases were able to monitor the performance of the satellite visible instrument. The biases were corrected based on a first-order approximation method, which promotes the data assimilation of satellite visible reflectance in real-world cases.
Job I. Wiltink, Hartwig Deneke, Yves-Marie Saint-Drenan, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, and Jan Fokke Meirink
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6003–6024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, 2024
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Meteosat Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) global horizontal irradiance (GHI) retrievals are validated at standard and increased spatial resolution against a network of 99 pyranometers. GHI accuracy is strongly dependent on the cloud regime. Days with variable cloud conditions show significant accuracy improvements when retrieved at higher resolution. We highlight the benefits of dense network observations and a cloud-regime-resolved approach in validating GHI retrievals.
Żaneta Nguyen Huu, Andrzej Z. Kotarba, and Agnieszka Wypych
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-163, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-163, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Clouds affect Earth's energy balance, with high-altitude cirrus clouds contributing to atmospheric warming. While active satellite sensors are the most accurate for detecting cirrus clouds, they are not ideal for long-term studies. This study compares MODIS and CALIOP data, testing six MODIS methods and two ISCCP tests. The ATC test was the most effective, achieving 72.98 % accuracy during daytime and 59.50 % at night, making it suitable for creating a high-level cloud mask.
Rohit Mangla, Mary Borderies, Philippe Chambon, Alan Geer, and James Hocking
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-131, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-131, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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This study provides a detailed description of the radar simulator available within version 13 of the RTTOV software. It is applied to the Météo-France global numerical weather prediction model, with the objective of simulating Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar reflectivity observations. Additionally, the simulation of the bright-band is addressed, and then successfully applied to model forecasts for the purpose of classifying the model columns between stratiform and convective categories.
Ethel Villeneuve, Philippe Chambon, and Nadia Fourrié
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3567–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3567-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3567-2024, 2024
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In cloudy situations, infrared and microwave observations are complementary, with infrared being sensitive to cloud tops and microwave sensitive to precipitation. However, infrared satellite observations are underused. This study aims to quantify if the inconsistencies in the modelling of clouds prevent the use of cloudy infrared observations in the process of weather forecasting. It shows that the synergistic use of infrared and microwave observations is beneficial, despite inconsistencies.
Woosub Roh, Masaki Satoh, Yuichiro Hagihara, Hiroaki Horie, Yuichi Ohno, and Takuji Kubota
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3455–3466, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3455-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3455-2024, 2024
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The advantage of the use of Doppler velocity in the categorization of the hydrometeors is that Doppler velocities suffer less impact from the attenuation of rain and wet attenuation on an antenna. The ground Cloud Profiling Radar observation of the radar reflectivity for the precipitation case is limited because of wet attenuation on an antenna. We found the main contribution to Doppler velocities is the terminal velocity of hydrometeors by analysis of simulation results.
Santo Fedele Colosimo, Nathaniel Brockway, Vijay Natraj, Robert Spurr, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Lisa Scalone, Max Spolaor, Sarah Woods, and Jochen Stutz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2367–2385, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2367-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2367-2024, 2024
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Cirrus clouds are poorly understood components of the climate system, in part due to the challenge of observing thin, sub-visible ice clouds. We address this issue with a new observational approach that uses the remote sensing of near-infrared ice water absorption features from a high-altitude aircraft. We describe the underlying principle of this approach and present a new procedure to retrieve ice concentration in cirrus clouds. Our retrievals compare well with in situ observations.
Shuai Li, Hua Zhang, Yonghang Chen, Zhili Wang, Xiangyu Li, Yuan Li, and Yuanyuan Xue
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2011–2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2011-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2011-2024, 2024
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In this paper, Xinjiang was the test area, and nine evaluation indexes of FY-2F/CTA, including precision rate, false rate, missing rate, consistency rate, strong rate, weak rate, bias, AE, and RMSE, were calculated and analyzed under complex underlying surface (subsurface types, temperature and altitude conditions) and different weather conditions (dust effects and different cloud cover levels). The precision, consistency, and error indexes of FY-2F/CTA were tested and evaluated.
Lea Volkmer, Veronika Pörtge, Fabian Jakub, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1703–1719, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1703-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1703-2024, 2024
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Three-dimensional radiative transfer simulations are used to evaluate the performance of retrieval algorithms in the derivation of cloud geometry (cloud top heights) and cloud droplet size distributions from two-dimensional polarized radiance measurements of the airborne spectrometer of the Munich Aerosol Cloud Scanner. The cloud droplet size distributions are derived for the effective radius and variance. The simulations are based on cloud data from highly resolved large-eddy simulations.
Chaojun Shi, Leile Han, Ke Zhang, Hongyin Xiang, Xingkuan Li, Zibo Su, and Xian Zheng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 979–997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-979-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-979-2024, 2024
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This article mainly studies the problem of ground cloud classification and significantly improves the accuracy of ground cloud classification by applying an improved deep-learning method. The research results show that the method proposed in this article has a significant impact on the classification results of ground cloud images. These conclusions have important implications for providing new insights and future research directions in the field of ground cloud classification.
Shannon L. Mason, Howard W. Barker, Jason N. S. Cole, Nicole Docter, David P. Donovan, Robin J. Hogan, Anja Hünerbein, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Zhipeng Qu, Ulla Wandinger, and Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 875–898, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-875-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-875-2024, 2024
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When the EarthCARE mission enters its operational phase, many retrieval data products will be available, which will overlap both in terms of the measurements they use and the geophysical quantities they report. In this pre-launch study, we use simulated EarthCARE scenes to compare the coverage and performance of many data products from the European Space Agency production model, with the intention of better understanding the relation between products and providing a compact guide to users.
Bo-Ram Kim, Gyuyeon Kim, Minjeong Cho, Yong-Sang Choi, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 453–470, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-453-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-453-2024, 2024
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This study introduces the GEMS cloud algorithm and validates its results using data from GEMS and other environmental satellites. The GEMS algorithm is able to detect the lowest cloud heights among the four satellites, and its effective cloud fraction and cloud centroid pressure are well reflected in the retrieval results. The study highlights the algorithm's usefulness in correcting errors in trace gases caused by clouds in the East Asian region.
Kenan Wu, Tianwen Wei, Jinlong Yuan, Haiyun Xia, Xin Huang, Gaopeng Lu, Yunpeng Zhang, Feifan Liu, Baoyou Zhu, and Weidong Ding
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5811–5825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5811-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5811-2023, 2023
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A compact all-fiber coherent Doppler wind lidar (CDWL) working at the 1.5 µm wavelength is applied to probe the dynamics and microphysics structure of thunderstorms. It was found that thunderclouds below the 0 ℃ isotherm have significant spectrum broadening and an increase in skewness, and that lightning affects the microphysics structure of the thundercloud. It is proven that the precise spectrum of CDWL is a promising indicator for studying the charge structure of thunderstorms.
Imke Schirmacher, Pavlos Kollias, Katia Lamer, Mario Mech, Lukas Pfitzenmaier, Manfred Wendisch, and Susanne Crewell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4081–4100, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4081-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4081-2023, 2023
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CloudSat’s relatively coarse spatial resolution, low sensitivity, and blind zone limit its assessment of Arctic low-level clouds, which affect the surface energy balance. We compare cloud fractions from CloudSat and finely resolved airborne radar observations to determine CloudSat’s limitations. Cloudsat overestimates cloud fractions above its blind zone, especially during cold-air outbreaks over open water, and misses a cloud fraction of 32 % and half of the precipitation inside its blind zone.
Richard M. Schulte, Matthew D. Lebsock, and John M. Haynes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3531–3546, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3531-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3531-2023, 2023
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In order to constrain climate models and better understand how clouds might change in future climates, accurate satellite estimates of cloud liquid water content are important. The satellite currently best suited to this purpose, CloudSat, is not sensitive enough to detect some non-raining low clouds. In this study we show that information from two other satellite instruments, MODIS and CALIOP, can be combined to provide cloud water estimates for many of the clouds that are missed by CloudSat.
Kameswara S. Vinjamuri, Marco Vountas, Luca Lelli, Martin Stengel, Matthew D. Shupe, Kerstin Ebell, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2903–2918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2903-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2903-2023, 2023
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Clouds play an important role in Arctic amplification. Cloud data from ground-based sites are valuable but cannot represent the whole Arctic. Therefore the use of satellite products is a measure to cover the entire Arctic. However, the quality of such cloud measurements from space is not well known. The paper discusses the differences and commonalities between satellite and ground-based measurements. We conclude that the satellite dataset, with a few exceptions, can be used in the Arctic.
Hong Chen, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Steven T. Massie, Vikas Nataraja, Matthew S. Norgren, Jake J. Gristey, Graham Feingold, Robert E. Holz, and Hironobu Iwabuchi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1971–2000, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1971-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1971-2023, 2023
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We introduce the Education and Research 3D Radiative Transfer Toolbox (EaR3T) and propose a radiance self-consistency approach for quantifying and mitigating 3D bias in legacy airborne and spaceborne imagery retrievals due to spatially inhomogeneous clouds and surfaces.
Kumar Abhijeet, Thota Narayana Rao, Nidamanuri Rama Rao, and Kasimahanthi Amar Jyothi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 871–888, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-871-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-871-2023, 2023
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The present study focuses on retrieving and validating raindrop size distribution (DSD) relations for monsoonal rainfall, which are required for retrieving DSDs with polarimetric radar measurements. The seasonal variation in DSD is quite large and significant, and as a result the coefficients also vary considerably between the seasons and from those existing elsewhere. Among the existing DSD methods, the N-gamma method performs better than the other methods.
Gianluca Di Natale, David D. Turner, Giovanni Bianchini, Massimo Del Guasta, Luca Palchetti, Alessandro Bracci, Luca Baldini, Tiziano Maestri, William Cossich, Michele Martinazzo, and Luca Facheris
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7235–7258, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7235-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7235-2022, 2022
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In this paper, we describe a new approach to test the consistency of the precipitating ice cloud optical and microphysical properties in Antarctica, Dome C, retrieved from hyperspectral measurements in the far-infrared, with the reflectivity detected by a co-located micro rain radar operating at 24 GHz. The retrieved ice crystal sizes were found in accordance with the direct measurements of an optical imager, also installed at Dome C, which can collect the falling ice particles.
Sergey Y. Matrosov, Alexei Korolev, Mengistu Wolde, and Cuong Nguyen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6373–6386, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6373-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6373-2022, 2022
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A remote sensing method to retrieve sizes of particles in ice clouds and precipitation from radar measurements at two wavelengths is described. This method is based on relating the particle size information to the ratio of radar signals at these two wavelengths. It is demonstrated that this ratio is informative about different characteristic particle sizes. Knowing atmospheric ice particle sizes is important for many applications such as precipitation estimation and climate modeling.
Andrzej Z. Kotarba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4307–4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4307-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4307-2022, 2022
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Space profiling lidars offer a unique insight into cloud properties in Earth’s atmosphere, and are considered the most reliable source of cloud information. However, lidar-based cloud climatologies are infrequently sampled: every 7 to 91 d, and only along the ground track. This study evaluated how accurate are the cloud data from existing (CALIPSO, ICESat-2, Aeolus) and planned (EarthCARE) space lidars, when compared to a cloud climatology obtained with observations taken every day.
Edward Gryspeerdt, Daniel T. McCoy, Ewan Crosbie, Richard H. Moore, Graeme J. Nott, David Painemal, Jennifer Small-Griswold, Armin Sorooshian, and Luke Ziemba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3875–3892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3875-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3875-2022, 2022
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Droplet number concentration is a key property of clouds, influencing a variety of cloud processes. It is also used for estimating the cloud response to aerosols. The satellite retrieval depends on a number of assumptions – different sampling strategies are used to select cases where these assumptions are most likely to hold. Here we investigate the impact of these strategies on the agreement with in situ data, the droplet number climatology and estimates of the indirect radiative forcing.
Henning Dorff, Heike Konow, and Felix Ament
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3641–3661, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3641-2022, 2022
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This study elaborates how aircraft-based horizontal geometries of trade wind cumuli differ whether a one-dimensional profiling radar or a two-dimensional imager is used. Cloud size distributions are examined in terms of sensitivity to sample size, resolution, and instrument field of view. While the radar cannot reproduce the double power law distribution due to coarse resolution and restriction to vertical transects, the imager also reveals the elliptic cloud structure enhancing with wind speed.
Qing Yue, Eric J. Fetzer, Likun Wang, Brian H. Kahn, Nadia Smith, John M. Blaisdell, Kerry G. Meyer, Mathias Schreier, Bjorn Lambrigtsen, and Irina Tkatcheva
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2099–2123, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2099-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2099-2022, 2022
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The self-consistency and continuity of cloud retrievals from infrared sounders and imagers aboard Aqua and SNPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) are examined at the pixel scale. Cloud products are found to be consistent with each other. Differences between sounder products are mainly due to cloud clearing and the treatment of clouds in scenes with unsuccessful atmospheric retrievals. The impact of algorithm and instrument differences is clearly seen in the imager cloud retrievals.
Pradeep Khatri, Tadahiro Hayasaka, Hitoshi Irie, Husi Letu, Takashi Y. Nakajima, Hiroshi Ishimoto, and Tamio Takamura
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1967–1982, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1967-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1967-2022, 2022
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Cloud properties observed by the Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI) onboard the Global Change Observation Mission – Climate (GCOM-C) satellite are evaluated using surface observation data. The study finds that SGLI-observed cloud properties are qualitative enough, although water cloud properties are suggested to be more qualitative, and both water and ice cloud properties can reproduce surface irradiance quite satisfactorily. Thus, SGLI cloud products are very useful for different studies.
Artem G. Feofilov, Hélène Chepfer, Vincent Noël, Rodrigo Guzman, Cyprien Gindre, Po-Lun Ma, and Marjolaine Chiriaco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1055–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1055-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1055-2022, 2022
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Space-borne lidars have been providing invaluable information of atmospheric optical properties since 2006, and new lidar missions are on the way to ensure continuous observations. In this work, we compare the clouds estimated from space-borne ALADIN and CALIOP lidar observations. The analysis of collocated data shows that the agreement between the retrieved clouds is good up to 3 km height. Above that, ALADIN detects 40 % less clouds than CALIOP, except for polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs).
Gregor Köcher, Tobias Zinner, Christoph Knote, Eleni Tetoni, Florian Ewald, and Martin Hagen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1033–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1033-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1033-2022, 2022
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We present a setup for systematic characterization of differences between numerical weather models and radar observations for convective weather situations. Radar observations providing dual-wavelength and polarimetric variables to infer information about hydrometeor shapes and sizes are compared against simulations using microphysics schemes of varying complexity. Differences are found in ice and liquid phase, pointing towards issues of some schemes in reproducing particle size distributions.
Simon Pfreundschuh, Stuart Fox, Patrick Eriksson, David Duncan, Stefan A. Buehler, Manfred Brath, Richard Cotton, and Florian Ewald
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 677–699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-677-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-677-2022, 2022
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We test a novel method to remotely measure ice particles in clouds. This is important because such measurements are required to improve climate and weather models. The method combines a radar with newly developed sensors measuring microwave radiation at very short wavelengths. We use observations made from aircraft flying above the cloud and compare them to real measurements from inside the cloud. This works well given that one can model the ice particles in the cloud sufficiently well.
David Painemal, Douglas Spangenberg, William L. Smith Jr., Patrick Minnis, Brian Cairns, Richard H. Moore, Ewan Crosbie, Claire Robinson, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Edward L. Winstead, and Luke Ziemba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6633–6646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6633-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6633-2021, 2021
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Cloud properties derived from satellite sensors are critical for the global monitoring of climate. This study evaluates satellite-based cloud properties over the North Atlantic using airborne data collected during NAAMES. Satellite observations of droplet size and cloud optical depth tend to compare well with NAAMES data. The analysis indicates that the satellite pixel resolution and the specific viewing geometry need to be taken into account in research applications.
Charles H. White, Andrew K. Heidinger, and Steven A. Ackerman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3371–3394, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3371-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3371-2021, 2021
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Automated detection of clouds in satellite imagery is an important practice that is useful for predicting and understanding both weather and climate. Cloud detection is often difficult at night and over cold surfaces. In this paper, we discuss how a complex statistical model (a neural network) can more accurately detect clouds compared to currently used approaches. Overall, our results suggest that our approach could result in more reliable assessments of global cloud cover.
Hong Chen, Sebastian Schmidt, Michael D. King, Galina Wind, Anthony Bucholtz, Elizabeth A. Reid, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, William L. Smith, Patrick C. Taylor, Seiji Kato, and Peter Pilewskie
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2673–2697, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2673-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2673-2021, 2021
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In this paper, we accessed the shortwave irradiance derived from MODIS cloud optical properties by using aircraft measurements. We developed a data aggregation technique to parameterize spectral surface albedo by snow fraction in the Arctic. We found that undetected clouds have the most significant impact on the imagery-derived irradiance. This study suggests that passive imagery cloud detection could be improved through a multi-pixel approach that would make it more dependable in the Arctic.
Steven Compernolle, Athina Argyrouli, Ronny Lutz, Maarten Sneep, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Ann Mari Fjæraa, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Diego Loyola, Ewan O'Connor, Fabian Romahn, Piet Stammes, Tijl Verhoelst, and Ping Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2451–2476, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2451-2021, 2021
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The high-resolution satellite Sentinel-5p TROPOMI observes several atmospheric gases. To account for cloud interference with the observations, S5P cloud data products (CLOUD OCRA/ROCINN_CAL, OCRA/ROCINN_CRB, and FRESCO) provide vital input: cloud fraction, cloud height, and cloud optical thickness. Here, S5P cloud parameters are validated by comparing with other satellite sensors (VIIRS, MODIS, and OMI) and with ground-based CloudNet data. The agreement depends on product type and cloud height.
Jędrzej S. Bojanowski and Jan P. Musiał
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6771–6788, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6771-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6771-2020, 2020
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Satellites such as NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer can uniquely observe changes in cloud cover but are affected by orbital drift that results in shifted image acquisition times, which in turn lead to spurious trends in cloud cover detected during climatological analyses. Providing a detailed quantification of these trends, we show that climate data records must be analysed with caution, as for some periods and regions they do not comply with the requirements for climate data.
Andrzej Z. Kotarba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4995–5012, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4995-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4995-2020, 2020
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This paper evaluates the operational approach for producing global (Level 3) cloud amount based on MODIS cloud masks (Level 2). Using CALIPSO we calculate the actual cloud fractions for each cloud mask category, which are 21.5 %, 27.7 %, 66.6 %, and 94.7 % instead of assumed 0 %, 0 %, 100 %, and 100 %. Consequently we find the operational procedure unreliable, especially on a regional/local scale. A method of how to correct and calibrate MODIS global data using CALIPSO detections is suggested.
Benjamin Marchant, Steven Platnick, Kerry Meyer, and Galina Wind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3263–3275, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3263-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3263-2020, 2020
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Multilayer cloud scenes (such as an ice cloud overlapping a liquid cloud) are common in the Earth's atmosphere and are quite difficult to detect from space. The detection of multilayer clouds is important to better understand how they interact with the light and their impact on the climate. So, for the instrument MODIS an algorithm has been developed to detect those clouds, and this paper presents an evaluation of this algorithm by comparing it with
other instruments.
Alexis Hunzinger, Joseph C. Hardin, Nitin Bharadwaj, Adam Varble, and Alyssa Matthews
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3147–3166, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3147-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3147-2020, 2020
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The calibration of weather radars is one of the most dominant sources of errors hindering their use. This work takes a technique for tracking the changes in radar calibration using the radar clutter from the ground and extends it to higher-frequency research radars. It demonstrates that after modifications the technique is successful but that special care needs to be taken in its application at high frequencies. The technique is verified using data from multiple DOE ARM field campaigns.
Dieter R. Poelman and Wolfgang Schulz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2965–2977, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2965-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2965-2020, 2020
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The objective of this work is to quantify the similarities and contrasts between the lightning observations from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS) and the ground-based European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) network. This work is timely, given that the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG), which has a lightning imager (LI) on board, is going to be launched in 2 years.
Manfred Brath, Robin Ekelund, Patrick Eriksson, Oliver Lemke, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2309–2333, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2309-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2309-2020, 2020
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Microwave dual-polarization observations consistently show that larger atmospheric ice particles tend to have a preferred orientation. We provide a publicly available database of microwave and submillimeter wave scattering properties of oriented ice particles based on discrete dipole approximation scattering calculations. Detailed radiative transfer simulations, recreating observed polarization patterns, are additionally presented in this study.
Erin A. Riley, Jessica M. Kleiss, Laura D. Riihimaki, Charles N. Long, Larry K. Berg, and Evgueni Kassianov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2099–2117, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2099-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2099-2020, 2020
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Discrepancies in hourly shallow cumuli cover estimates can be substantial. Instrument detection differences contribute to long-term bias in shallow cumuli cover estimates, whereas narrow field-of-view configurations impact measurement uncertainty as averaging time decreases. A new tool is introduced to visually assess both impacts on sub-hourly cloud cover estimates. Accurate shallow cumuli cover estimation is needed for model–observation comparisons and studying cloud-surface interactions.
Robin Ekelund, Patrick Eriksson, and Simon Pfreundschuh
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 501–520, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-501-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-501-2020, 2020
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Atmospheric ice particles (e.g. snow and ice crystals) are an important part of weather, climate, and the hydrological cycle. This study investigates whether combined satellite measurements by radar and radiometers at microwave wavelengths can be used to find the most likely shape of such ice particles. The method was limited when using only currently operating sensors (CloudSat radar and the GPM Microwave Imager) but shows promise if the upcoming Ice Cloud Imager is also considered.
Juan Huo, Daren Lu, Shu Duan, Yongheng Bi, and Bo Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1-2020, 2020
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Cloud top height (CTH) is one of the important cloud parameters providing information about the vertical structure of cloud water content. To better understand the accuracy of CTH derived from passive satellite data, 2 years of ground-based Ka-band radar measurements are compared with CTH inferred from Terra/Aqua MODIS and Himawari AHI. It is found that MODIS and AHI underestimate CTH relative to radar by −1.10 km. Both MODIS and AHI CTH retrieval accuracy depend strongly on cloud depth.
Vladimir S. Kostsov, Anke Kniffka, Martin Stengel, and Dmitry V. Ionov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5927–5946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5927-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5927-2019, 2019
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Cloud liquid water path (LWP) is one of the target atmospheric parameters retrieved remotely from ground-based and space-borne platforms. The LWP data delivered by the satellite instruments SEVIRI and AVHRR together with the data provided by the ground-based radiometer RPG-HATPRO near St. Petersburg, Russia, have been compared. Our study revealed considerable differences between LWP data from SEVIRI and AVHRR in winter over ice-covered relatively small water bodies in this region.
Chaojun Shi, Yatong Zhou, Bo Qiu, Jingfei He, Mu Ding, and Shiya Wei
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4713–4724, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4713-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4713-2019, 2019
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Cloud segmentation plays a very important role in astronomical observatory site selection. At present, few researchers segment cloud in nocturnal all-sky imager (ASI) images. We propose a new automatic cloud segmentation algorithm to segment cloud pixels from diurnal and nocturnal ASI images called an enhancement fully convolutional network (EFCN). Experiments showed that the proposed EFCN was much more accurate in cloud segmentation for diurnal and nocturnal ASI images.
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Short summary
Retrievals of cloud optical depth made using AERONET radiometers in “cloud mode” rely on the assumption that all cloud is liquid. The presence of ice cloud therefore introduces errors in the retrieved optical depth, which can be over 25 in optically thick ice clouds. However, such clouds are not frequent and the long-term mean optical depth error is about 3 for a sample of real clouds. A correction equation could improve the retrieval further, although this would require extra instrumentation.
Retrievals of cloud optical depth made using AERONET radiometers in “cloud mode” rely on the...
