Articles | Volume 17, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5161-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5161-2024
Research article
 | 
05 Sep 2024
Research article |  | 05 Sep 2024

How well can brightness temperature differences of spaceborne imagers help to detect cloud phase? A sensitivity analysis regarding cloud phase and related cloud properties

Johanna Mayer, Bernhard Mayer, Luca Bugliaro, Ralf Meerkötter, and Christiane Voigt

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Cited articles

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Short summary
This study uses radiative transfer calculations to characterize the relation of two satellite channel combinations (namely infrared window brightness temperature differences – BTDs – of SEVIRI) to the thermodynamic cloud phase. A sensitivity analysis reveals the complex interplay of cloud parameters and their contribution to the observed phase dependence of BTDs. This knowledge helps to design optimal cloud-phase retrievals and to understand their potential and limitations.
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