Articles | Volume 13, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2965-2020
© Author(s) 2020. 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-13-2965-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Jun 2020
Research article |
| 05 Jun 2020
| 05 Jun 2020
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)
Dieter R. Poelman
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Wolfgang Schulz
Austrian Lightning Detection and Information System (ALDIS), Vienna, Austria
Related authors
Felix Erdmann and Dieter Roel Poelman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-174, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-174, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides detailed insight into the thunderstorm characteristics associated with abrupt changes in the lightning activity of a thunderstorm – lightning jump (LJ) and lightning dive (LD) – using geostationary satellite observations. Thunderstorms exhibiting one or multiple LJs or LDs feature similar characteristics as severe thunderstorms. Storms with multiple LJs contain strong convective updrafts, and are prone to produce high rain rates, large hail or tornadoes.
Dieter Roel Poelman, Hannes Kohlmann, and Wolfgang Schulz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-18, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-18, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
EUCLID's lightning data unveils distinctive ground strike point (GSP) patterns in Europe. Over seas, GSPs per flash surpass inland, reaching a minimum in the Alps. Mountainous areas like the Alps and Pyrenees have the closest GSP separation, highlighting terrain elevation's impact. Daily peak current correlates with average GSPs per flash. These findings could significantly influence lightning protection measures, urging a focus on GSP density rather than flash density for risk assessment.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Stephane Pedeboy, Dustin Hill, Marcelo Saba, Hugh Hunt, Lukas Schwalt, Christian Vergeiner, Carlos T. Mata, Carina Schumann, and Tom Warner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1909–1919, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1909-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Information about lightning properties is important in order to advance the current understanding of lightning, whereby the characteristics of ground strike points are in particular helpful to improving the risk estimation for lightning protection. High-speed video recordings of 1174 negative downward lightning flashes are taken in different regions around the world and analyzed in terms of flash multiplicity, duration, interstroke intervals and ground strike point properties.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Stephane Pedeboy, Leandro Z. S. Campos, Michihiro Matsui, Dustin Hill, Marcelo Saba, and Hugh Hunt
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1921–1933, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1921-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1921-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The lightning flash density is a key input parameter for assessing the risk of occurrence of a lightning strike. Flashes tend to have more than one ground termination point on average; therefore the use of ground strike point densities is more appropriate. The aim of this study is to assess the ability of three distinct ground strike point algorithms to correctly determine the observed ground-truth strike points.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Rudolf Kaltenboeck, and Laurent Delobbe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4561–4572, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4561-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4561-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Lightning data as observed by the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection network EUCLID are used in combination with radar data to retrieve the temporal and spatial behavior of lightning outliers, i.e. discharges located in a wrong place, over a 5-year period from 2011 to 2016 in Belgium and Austria.
Wolfgang Schulz, Gerhard Diendorfer, Stéphane Pedeboy, and Dieter Roel Poelman
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 595–605, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-595-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-595-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we present a performance analysis of the European lightning location system EUCLID for cloud-to-ground flashes/strokes in terms of location accuracy, detection efficiency and peak current estimation. The performance analysis is based on ground truth data from direct lightning current measurements at the Gaisberg Tower and data from E-field and video recordings.
Dieter Roel Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Gerhard Diendorfer, and Marina Bernardi
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 607–616, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-607-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-607-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud-to-ground lightning data from the EUCLID network over the period 2006–2014 are explored. Mean flash densities vary over the European continent, with the highest density found at the intersection of the borders of Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The majority of lightning activity takes place between May and September, while the diurnal cycle peaks around 15:00 UTC. In addition, it is found that flashes with higher peak currents occur in greater proportion over sea than over land.
Felix Erdmann and Dieter Roel Poelman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-174, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-174, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides detailed insight into the thunderstorm characteristics associated with abrupt changes in the lightning activity of a thunderstorm – lightning jump (LJ) and lightning dive (LD) – using geostationary satellite observations. Thunderstorms exhibiting one or multiple LJs or LDs feature similar characteristics as severe thunderstorms. Storms with multiple LJs contain strong convective updrafts, and are prone to produce high rain rates, large hail or tornadoes.
Dieter Roel Poelman, Hannes Kohlmann, and Wolfgang Schulz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-18, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-18, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
EUCLID's lightning data unveils distinctive ground strike point (GSP) patterns in Europe. Over seas, GSPs per flash surpass inland, reaching a minimum in the Alps. Mountainous areas like the Alps and Pyrenees have the closest GSP separation, highlighting terrain elevation's impact. Daily peak current correlates with average GSPs per flash. These findings could significantly influence lightning protection measures, urging a focus on GSP density rather than flash density for risk assessment.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Stephane Pedeboy, Dustin Hill, Marcelo Saba, Hugh Hunt, Lukas Schwalt, Christian Vergeiner, Carlos T. Mata, Carina Schumann, and Tom Warner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1909–1919, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1909-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Information about lightning properties is important in order to advance the current understanding of lightning, whereby the characteristics of ground strike points are in particular helpful to improving the risk estimation for lightning protection. High-speed video recordings of 1174 negative downward lightning flashes are taken in different regions around the world and analyzed in terms of flash multiplicity, duration, interstroke intervals and ground strike point properties.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Stephane Pedeboy, Leandro Z. S. Campos, Michihiro Matsui, Dustin Hill, Marcelo Saba, and Hugh Hunt
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1921–1933, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1921-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1921-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The lightning flash density is a key input parameter for assessing the risk of occurrence of a lightning strike. Flashes tend to have more than one ground termination point on average; therefore the use of ground strike point densities is more appropriate. The aim of this study is to assess the ability of three distinct ground strike point algorithms to correctly determine the observed ground-truth strike points.
Dieter R. Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Rudolf Kaltenboeck, and Laurent Delobbe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4561–4572, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4561-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4561-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Lightning data as observed by the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection network EUCLID are used in combination with radar data to retrieve the temporal and spatial behavior of lightning outliers, i.e. discharges located in a wrong place, over a 5-year period from 2011 to 2016 in Belgium and Austria.
Thorsten Simon, Nikolaus Umlauf, Achim Zeileis, Georg J. Mayr, Wolfgang Schulz, and Gerhard Diendorfer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 305–314, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-305-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-305-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The study presents a newly developed statistical method to assess the risk of thunderstorms in complex terrain. Observations of lightning serve as an indicator for thunderstorms. The application of the method is illustrated for Carinthia which is located in Austria, Europe.
Wolfgang Schulz, Gerhard Diendorfer, Stéphane Pedeboy, and Dieter Roel Poelman
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 595–605, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-595-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-595-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we present a performance analysis of the European lightning location system EUCLID for cloud-to-ground flashes/strokes in terms of location accuracy, detection efficiency and peak current estimation. The performance analysis is based on ground truth data from direct lightning current measurements at the Gaisberg Tower and data from E-field and video recordings.
Dieter Roel Poelman, Wolfgang Schulz, Gerhard Diendorfer, and Marina Bernardi
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 607–616, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-607-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-607-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud-to-ground lightning data from the EUCLID network over the period 2006–2014 are explored. Mean flash densities vary over the European continent, with the highest density found at the intersection of the borders of Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The majority of lightning activity takes place between May and September, while the diurnal cycle peaks around 15:00 UTC. In addition, it is found that flashes with higher peak currents occur in greater proportion over sea than over land.
E. Defer, J.-P. Pinty, S. Coquillat, J.-M. Martin, S. Prieur, S. Soula, E. Richard, W. Rison, P. Krehbiel, R. Thomas, D. Rodeheffer, C. Vergeiner, F. Malaterre, S. Pedeboy, W. Schulz, T. Farges, L.-J. Gallin, P. Ortéga, J.-F. Ribaud, G. Anderson, H.-D. Betz, B. Meneux, V. Kotroni, K. Lagouvardos, S. Roos, V. Ducrocq, O. Roussot, L. Labatut, and G. Molinié
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 649–669, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-649-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-649-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The paper summarizes the scientific objectives and the observational/modeling strategy of the atmospheric electricity PEACH project of the HyMeX program focusing on the lightning activity and the electrical state of Mediterranean thunderstorms. Examples of concurrent observations from radio frequency to acoustic for regular and atypical lightning flashes and for storms are discussed, showing the unique and comprehensive description of lightning flashes recorded during a dedicated field campaign.
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
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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.
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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.
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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.
Woosub Roh, Masaki Satoh, Yuichiro Hagihara, Hiroaki Horie, Yuichi Ohno, and Takuji Kubuta
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1997, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1997, 2023
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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 CPR 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.
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.
Santo Fedele Colosimo, Nathaniel Brockway, Vijay Natraj, Robert Spurr, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Lisa Scalone, Max Spolaor, Sarah Woods, and Jochen Stutz
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-85, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-85, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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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.
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.
Ethel Villeneuve, Philippe Chambon, and Nadia Fourrié
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-446, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-446, 2023
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In cloudy situations, infrared and microwave observations are complementary, with infrared being sensitive to the top of clouds and microwave sensitive to precipitation. However, infrared satellite observations are underuse. 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 forecast. It shows that the synergistic use of infrared and microwave observations is beneficial, depite inconsistencies.
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.
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.
Jonathan K. P. Shonk, Jui-Yuan Christine Chiu, Alexander Marshak, David M. Giles, Chiung-Huei Huang, Gerald G. Mace, Sally Benson, Ilya Slutsker, and Brent N. Holben
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5087–5099, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5087-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5087-2019, 2019
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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.
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.
Maximilian Maahn, Fabian Hoffmann, Matthew D. Shupe, Gijs de Boer, Sergey Y. Matrosov, and Edward P. Luke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3151–3171, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3151-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3151-2019, 2019
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Cloud radars are unique instruments for observing cloud processes, but uncertainties in radar calibration have frequently limited data quality. Here, we present three novel methods for calibrating vertically pointing cloud radars. These calibration methods are based on microphysical processes of liquid clouds, such as the transition of cloud droplets to drizzle drops. We successfully apply the methods to cloud radar data from the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Oliktok Point (OLI) ARM sites.
Florian Ewald, Silke Groß, Martin Hagen, Lutz Hirsch, Julien Delanoë, and Matthias Bauer-Pfundstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1815–1839, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1815-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1815-2019, 2019
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This study gives a summary of lessons learned during the absolute calibration of the airborne, high-power Ka-band cloud radar HAMP MIRA on board the German research aircraft HALO. The first part covers the internal calibration of the instrument where individual instrument components are characterized in the laboratory. In the second part, the internal calibration is validated with external reference sources like the ocean surface backscatter and different air- and spaceborne cloud radars.
Stuart Fox, Jana Mendrok, Patrick Eriksson, Robin Ekelund, Sebastian J. O'Shea, Keith N. Bower, Anthony J. Baran, R. Chawn Harlow, and Juliet C. Pickering
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1599–1617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1599-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1599-2019, 2019
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Airborne observations of ice clouds are used to validate radiative transfer simulations using a state-of-the-art database of cloud ice optical properties. Simulations at these wavelengths are required to make use of future satellite instruments such as the Ice Cloud Imager. We show that they can generally reproduce observed cloud signals, but for a given total ice mass there is considerable sensitivity to the cloud microphysics, including the particle shape and distribution of ice mass.
Katrin Lonitz and Alan J. Geer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 405–429, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-405-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-405-2019, 2019
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Permittivity models for microwave frequencies of liquid water below 0°C are poorly constrained due to limited laboratory experiments and observations, especially for high microwave frequencies. This uncertainty translates directly into errors in retrieved liquid water paths of up to 80 %. This study investigates the effect of different liquid water permittivity models including models based on the most recent observations.
Vladimir S. Kostsov, Anke Kniffka, and Dmitry V. Ionov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5439–5460, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5439-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5439-2018, 2018
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Clouds are a very important component of the climate system and of the hydrological cycle in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. A joint analysis of the cloud parameters obtained remotely from satellite and ground-based observations near St Petersburg, Russia, has been made. Our study has revealed considerable differences between the cloud properties over land and over water areas in the region under investigation.
Fanny Jeanneret, Giovanni Martucci, Simon Pinnock, and Alexis Berne
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4153–4170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4153-2018, 2018
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Above mountainous regions, satellites may have difficulty in discriminating snow from clouds: this study proposes a new method that combines different ground-based measurements to assess the sky cloudiness with high temporal resolution. The method's output is used as input to a model capable of identifying false satellite cloud detections. Results show that 62 ± 13 % of these false detections can be identified by the model when applied to the AVHRR-PM and MODIS Aqua data sets of the Cloud_cci.
Céline Cornet, Laurent C.-Labonnote, Fabien Waquet, Frédéric Szczap, Lucia Deaconu, Frédéric Parol, Claudine Vanbauce, François Thieuleux, and Jérôme Riédi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3627–3643, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3627-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3627-2018, 2018
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Simulations of total and polarized cloud reflectance angular signatures such as the ones measured by the multi-angular and polarized radiometer POLDER3/PARASOL are used to evaluate cloud heterogeneity effects on cloud parameter retrievals. Effects on optical thickness, albedo of the cloudy scenes, effective radius and variance of the cloud droplet size distribution, cloud top pressure and aerosol above cloud are analyzed.
Rodrigo Hierro, Andrea K. Steiner, Alejandro de la Torre, Peter Alexander, Pablo Llamedo, and Pablo Cremades
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3523–3539, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3523-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3523-2018, 2018
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This paper analyzed the collocated GPS radio occultation profiles near the convective systems identified from ISCCP over two orographic regions of the Alps and Andes. Gravity wave (GW) analysis over both selected regions was also carried out. The gravity wave signature from the two case studies were investigated using mesoscale WRF simulations, ERA-Interim reanalysis data, and measured RO temperature profiles. The absence of fronts or jets during both case studies reveals similar relevant GWs.
Nina Håkansson, Claudia Adok, Anke Thoss, Ronald Scheirer, and Sara Hörnquist
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3177–3196, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3177-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3177-2018, 2018
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In this paper a new algorithm for cloud top height retrieval from imager instruments like MODIS is presented. It uses artificial neural networks and reduces the mean absolute error by 32 % compared to two other operational cloud height algorithms. This means that improved cloud height retrieval for nowcasting, as input to models and in cloud climatologies is possible.
Yu Oishi, Haruma Ishida, Takashi Y. Nakajima, Ryosuke Nakamura, and Tsuneo Matsunaga
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2863–2878, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2863-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2863-2018, 2018
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Preparations are continuing for the launch of the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite 2 (GOSAT-2) in the fiscal year 2018. To improve the accuracy of the estimates of greenhouse gases concentrations, we need to refine the existing cloud discrimination algorithm. In this paper we showed a new cloud discrimination algorithm of pre-launch version for GOSAT-2, and compared the existing algorithm with the new algorithm.
Alessandro Damiani, Hitoshi Irie, Takashi Horio, Tamio Takamura, Pradeep Khatri, Hideaki Takenaka, Takashi Nagao, Takashi Y. Nakajima, and Raul R. Cordero
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2501–2521, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2501-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2501-2018, 2018
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The Tohoku Earthquake of March 2011 stressed the need for energy source diversity, and the governmental policy in Japan has been stimulating a broader use of
renewable energy. Solar power is potentially able to mitigate climate change triggered by greenhouse gas emissions, but its instability caused by cloudiness
is a critical issue for suppliers. To develop an appropriate control system, surface solar radiation data must be made available as accurately as possible.
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Short summary
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.
The objective of this work is to quantify the similarities and contrasts between the lightning...
