Articles | Volume 9, issue 7
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2927–2946, 2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2927-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2927–2946, 2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2927-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article 12 Jul 2016
Research article | 12 Jul 2016
Effects of polar stratospheric clouds in the Nimbus 7 LIMS Version 6 data set
Ellis Remsberg and V. Lynn Harvey
Related authors
Michaela I. Hegglin, Susann Tegtmeier, John Anderson, Adam E. Bourassa, Samuel Brohede, Doug Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, Bernd Funke, John Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Erkki T. Kyrölä, Jerry Lumpe, Donal Murtagh, Jessica L. Neu, Kristell Pérot, Ellis E. Remsberg, Alexei Rozanov, Matthew Toohey, Joachim Urban, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, Hsiang-Jui Wang, Carlo Arosio, Robert Damadeo, Ryan A. Fuller, Gretchen Lingenfelser, Christopher McLinden, Diane Pendlebury, Chris Roth, Niall J. Ryan, Christopher Sioris, Lesley Smith, and Katja Weigel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1855–1903, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
An overview of the SPARC Data Initiative is presented, to date the most comprehensive assessment of stratospheric composition measurements spanning 1979–2018. Measurements of 26 chemical constituents obtained from an international suite of space-based limb sounders were compiled into vertically resolved, zonal monthly mean time series. The quality and consistency of these gridded datasets are then evaluated using a climatological validation approach and a range of diagnostics.
Ellis Remsberg, V. Lynn Harvey, Arlin Krueger, and Murali Natarajan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2185–2199, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2185-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The LIMS satellite instrument operated in 1978/1979 and provided profiles of temperature (T) and four key species. LIMS viewed the atmosphere in opposite directions on its ascending (A) vs. descending (D) orbital segments. We find that (A-D) diagnostic plots of the species contain residual T biases that are a problem for assimilation of profiles in re-analyses. Even so, the combined data yield fields of O3 and H2O that agree well with that of the dynamical tracer, potential vorticity.
Arseniy Karagodin-Doyennel, Eugene Rozanov, Ales Kuchar, William Ball, Pavle Arsenovic, Ellis Remsberg, Patrick Jöckel, Markus Kunze, David A. Plummer, Andrea Stenke, Daniel Marsh, Doug Kinnison, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 201–216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-201-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-201-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The solar signal in the mesospheric H2O and CO was extracted from the CCMI-1 model simulations and satellite observations using multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. MLR analysis shows a pronounced and statistically robust solar signal in both H2O and CO. The model results show a general agreement with observations reproducing a negative/positive solar signal in H2O/CO. The pattern of the solar signal varies among the considered models, reflecting some differences in the model setup.
Ellis Remsberg, V. Lynn Harvey, Arlin Krueger, Larry Gordley, John C. Gille, and James M. Russell III
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3663–3668, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Nimbus 7 limb infrared monitor of the stratosphere (LIMS) instrument operated from October 25, 1978, through May 28, 1979. This note focuses on the lower stratosphere of the southern hemisphere, subpolar regions in relation to the position of the polar vortex. Both LIMS ozone and nitric acid show reductions within the edge of the polar vortex at 46 hPa near 60° S from late October through mid-November 1978, indicating that there was a chemical loss of Antarctic ozone some weeks earlier.
Stefan Lossow, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Michael Kiefer, Kaley A. Walker, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Laurent Blanot, James M. Russell, Ellis E. Remsberg, John C. Gille, Takafumi Sugita, Christopher E. Sioris, Bianca M. Dinelli, Enzo Papandrea, Piera Raspollini, Maya García-Comas, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Anu Dudhia, William G. Read, Gerald E. Nedoluha, Robert P. Damadeo, Joseph M. Zawodny, Katja Weigel, Alexei Rozanov, Faiza Azam, Klaus Bramstedt, Stefan Noël, John P. Burrows, Hideo Sagawa, Yasuko Kasai, Joachim Urban, Patrick Eriksson, Donal P. Murtagh, Mark E. Hervig, Charlotta Högberg, Dale F. Hurst, and Karen H. Rosenlof
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2693–2732, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2693-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2693-2019, 2019
Ellis Remsberg, Murali Natarajan, and V. Lynn Harvey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3611–3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3611-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3611-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Version 6 of the Nimbus 7 LIMS stratospheric data set contains improved profiles of NO2. The variations of V6 HNO3 and NO2 at 31.6 hPa are reassessed for their consistency in the region of the Aleutian High (AH) from 14 to 28 January 1979. Photochemical model calculations initialized with the V6 data and including effects of heterogeneous reactions mimic the observed decreases of NO2 and increases in HNO3 over a period of 10 days along trajectories terminating in the AH region on 28 January.
Stefan Lossow, Dale F. Hurst, Karen H. Rosenlof, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Sabine Brinkop, Martin Dameris, Patrick Jöckel, Doug E. Kinnison, Johannes Plieninger, David A. Plummer, Felix Ploeger, William G. Read, Ellis E. Remsberg, James M. Russell, and Mengchu Tao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8331–8351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Trend estimates of lower stratospheric H2O derived from the FPH observations at Boulder and a merged zonal mean satellite data set clearly differ for the time period from the late 1980s to 2010. We investigate if a sampling bias between Boulder and the zonal mean around the Boulder latitude can explain these trend discrepancies. Typically they are small and not sufficient to explain the trend discrepancies in the observational database.
Robert P. Damadeo, Joseph M. Zawodny, Ellis E. Remsberg, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 535–554, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-535-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-535-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
An ozone trend analysis that compensates for sampling biases is applied to sparsely sampled occultation data sets. International assessments have noted deficiencies in past trend analyses and this work addresses those sources of uncertainty. The nonuniform sampling patterns in data sets and drifts between data sets can affect derived recovery trends by up to 2 % decade−1. The limitations inherent to all techniques are also described and a potential path forward towards resolution is presented.
E. E. Remsberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3739–3754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Time series of the satellite-observed stratospheric tracer, CH4, are analyzed to see whether they indicate a significant trend for the hemispheric Brewer--Dobson circulation (BDC) for 1992-2005. Trends in CH4 for the lower stratosphere are generally positive and equivalent to those of the troposphere. However, the Northern Hemisphere BDC is clearly accelerated in the mid-stratosphere (20 to 7hPa). Corresponding trends for the Southern Hemisphere are smaller and less significant.
B. Hassler, I. Petropavlovskikh, J. Staehelin, T. August, P. K. Bhartia, C. Clerbaux, D. Degenstein, M. De Mazière, B. M. Dinelli, A. Dudhia, G. Dufour, S. M. Frith, L. Froidevaux, S. Godin-Beekmann, J. Granville, N. R. P. Harris, K. Hoppel, D. Hubert, Y. Kasai, M. J. Kurylo, E. Kyrölä, J.-C. Lambert, P. F. Levelt, C. T. McElroy, R. D. McPeters, R. Munro, H. Nakajima, A. Parrish, P. Raspollini, E. E. Remsberg, K. H. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, T. Sano, Y. Sasano, M. Shiotani, H. G. J. Smit, G. Stiller, J. Tamminen, D. W. Tarasick, J. Urban, R. J. van der A, J. P. Veefkind, C. Vigouroux, T. von Clarmann, C. von Savigny, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, J. Wild, and J. M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, 2014
E. E. Remsberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1039–1053, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1039-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1039-2014, 2014
Michaela I. Hegglin, Susann Tegtmeier, John Anderson, Adam E. Bourassa, Samuel Brohede, Doug Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, Bernd Funke, John Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Erkki T. Kyrölä, Jerry Lumpe, Donal Murtagh, Jessica L. Neu, Kristell Pérot, Ellis E. Remsberg, Alexei Rozanov, Matthew Toohey, Joachim Urban, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, Hsiang-Jui Wang, Carlo Arosio, Robert Damadeo, Ryan A. Fuller, Gretchen Lingenfelser, Christopher McLinden, Diane Pendlebury, Chris Roth, Niall J. Ryan, Christopher Sioris, Lesley Smith, and Katja Weigel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1855–1903, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
An overview of the SPARC Data Initiative is presented, to date the most comprehensive assessment of stratospheric composition measurements spanning 1979–2018. Measurements of 26 chemical constituents obtained from an international suite of space-based limb sounders were compiled into vertically resolved, zonal monthly mean time series. The quality and consistency of these gridded datasets are then evaluated using a climatological validation approach and a range of diagnostics.
John P. McCormack, V. Lynn Harvey, Nicholas Pedatella, Dai Koshin, Kaoru Sato, Lawrence Coy, Shingo Watanabe, Cora E. Randall, Fabrizio Sassi, and Laura A. Holt
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-224, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-224, 2021
Revised manuscript under review for ACP
Short summary
Short summary
In order to have confidence in atmospheric predictions, it is important to know how well different numerical model simulations of the Earth’s atmosphere agree with one another. This work compares four different data assimilation models that extend to or beyond the mesosphere. Results shown here demonstrate that while the models are in close agreement below ~50 km, large differences arise at higher altitudes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere that will need to be reconciled in the future.
Ellis Remsberg, V. Lynn Harvey, Arlin Krueger, and Murali Natarajan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2185–2199, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2185-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The LIMS satellite instrument operated in 1978/1979 and provided profiles of temperature (T) and four key species. LIMS viewed the atmosphere in opposite directions on its ascending (A) vs. descending (D) orbital segments. We find that (A-D) diagnostic plots of the species contain residual T biases that are a problem for assimilation of profiles in re-analyses. Even so, the combined data yield fields of O3 and H2O that agree well with that of the dynamical tracer, potential vorticity.
David E. Siskind, V. Lynn Harvey, Fabrizio Sassi, John P. McCormack, Cora E. Randall, Mark E. Hervig, and Scott M. Bailey
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-68, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-68, 2021
Revised manuscript accepted for ACP
Short summary
Short summary
General circulation models have had a very difficult time simulating the descent of nitric oxide through the polar mesosphere to the stratosphere. Here, we present results suggesting that, with the proper specification of middle atmospheric meteorology, the simulation of this process can be greatly improved. Despite differences in the detailed geographic morphology of the model NO as compared with satellite data, we show that the overall abundance is likely in good agreement with the data.
Arseniy Karagodin-Doyennel, Eugene Rozanov, Ales Kuchar, William Ball, Pavle Arsenovic, Ellis Remsberg, Patrick Jöckel, Markus Kunze, David A. Plummer, Andrea Stenke, Daniel Marsh, Doug Kinnison, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 201–216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-201-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-201-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The solar signal in the mesospheric H2O and CO was extracted from the CCMI-1 model simulations and satellite observations using multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. MLR analysis shows a pronounced and statistically robust solar signal in both H2O and CO. The model results show a general agreement with observations reproducing a negative/positive solar signal in H2O/CO. The pattern of the solar signal varies among the considered models, reflecting some differences in the model setup.
Ellis Remsberg, V. Lynn Harvey, Arlin Krueger, Larry Gordley, John C. Gille, and James M. Russell III
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3663–3668, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Nimbus 7 limb infrared monitor of the stratosphere (LIMS) instrument operated from October 25, 1978, through May 28, 1979. This note focuses on the lower stratosphere of the southern hemisphere, subpolar regions in relation to the position of the polar vortex. Both LIMS ozone and nitric acid show reductions within the edge of the polar vortex at 46 hPa near 60° S from late October through mid-November 1978, indicating that there was a chemical loss of Antarctic ozone some weeks earlier.
Stefan Lossow, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Michael Kiefer, Kaley A. Walker, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Laurent Blanot, James M. Russell, Ellis E. Remsberg, John C. Gille, Takafumi Sugita, Christopher E. Sioris, Bianca M. Dinelli, Enzo Papandrea, Piera Raspollini, Maya García-Comas, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Anu Dudhia, William G. Read, Gerald E. Nedoluha, Robert P. Damadeo, Joseph M. Zawodny, Katja Weigel, Alexei Rozanov, Faiza Azam, Klaus Bramstedt, Stefan Noël, John P. Burrows, Hideo Sagawa, Yasuko Kasai, Joachim Urban, Patrick Eriksson, Donal P. Murtagh, Mark E. Hervig, Charlotta Högberg, Dale F. Hurst, and Karen H. Rosenlof
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2693–2732, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2693-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2693-2019, 2019
Ellis Remsberg, Murali Natarajan, and V. Lynn Harvey
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3611–3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3611-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3611-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Version 6 of the Nimbus 7 LIMS stratospheric data set contains improved profiles of NO2. The variations of V6 HNO3 and NO2 at 31.6 hPa are reassessed for their consistency in the region of the Aleutian High (AH) from 14 to 28 January 1979. Photochemical model calculations initialized with the V6 data and including effects of heterogeneous reactions mimic the observed decreases of NO2 and increases in HNO3 over a period of 10 days along trajectories terminating in the AH region on 28 January.
Stefan Lossow, Dale F. Hurst, Karen H. Rosenlof, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Sabine Brinkop, Martin Dameris, Patrick Jöckel, Doug E. Kinnison, Johannes Plieninger, David A. Plummer, Felix Ploeger, William G. Read, Ellis E. Remsberg, James M. Russell, and Mengchu Tao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8331–8351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Trend estimates of lower stratospheric H2O derived from the FPH observations at Boulder and a merged zonal mean satellite data set clearly differ for the time period from the late 1980s to 2010. We investigate if a sampling bias between Boulder and the zonal mean around the Boulder latitude can explain these trend discrepancies. Typically they are small and not sufficient to explain the trend discrepancies in the observational database.
Robert P. Damadeo, Joseph M. Zawodny, Ellis E. Remsberg, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 535–554, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-535-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-535-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
An ozone trend analysis that compensates for sampling biases is applied to sparsely sampled occultation data sets. International assessments have noted deficiencies in past trend analyses and this work addresses those sources of uncertainty. The nonuniform sampling patterns in data sets and drifts between data sets can affect derived recovery trends by up to 2 % decade−1. The limitations inherent to all techniques are also described and a potential path forward towards resolution is presented.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Jonathon S. Wright, Gloria L. Manney, Lesley J. Gray, James Anstey, Thomas Birner, Sean Davis, Edwin P. Gerber, V. Lynn Harvey, Michaela I. Hegglin, Cameron R. Homeyer, John A. Knox, Kirstin Krüger, Alyn Lambert, Craig S. Long, Patrick Martineau, Andrea Molod, Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Michelle L. Santee, Susann Tegtmeier, Simon Chabrillat, David G. H. Tan, David R. Jackson, Saroja Polavarapu, Gilbert P. Compo, Rossana Dragani, Wesley Ebisuzaki, Yayoi Harada, Chiaki Kobayashi, Will McCarty, Kazutoshi Onogi, Steven Pawson, Adrian Simmons, Krzysztof Wargan, Jeffrey S. Whitaker, and Cheng-Zhi Zou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1417–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1417-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1417-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce the SPARC Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP), review key concepts and elements of atmospheric reanalysis systems, and summarize the technical details of and differences among 11 of these systems. This work supports scientific studies and intercomparisons of reanalysis products by collecting these background materials and technical details into a single reference. We also address several common misunderstandings and points of confusion regarding reanalyses.
E. E. Remsberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3739–3754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Time series of the satellite-observed stratospheric tracer, CH4, are analyzed to see whether they indicate a significant trend for the hemispheric Brewer--Dobson circulation (BDC) for 1992-2005. Trends in CH4 for the lower stratosphere are generally positive and equivalent to those of the troposphere. However, the Northern Hemisphere BDC is clearly accelerated in the mid-stratosphere (20 to 7hPa). Corresponding trends for the Southern Hemisphere are smaller and less significant.
B. Hassler, I. Petropavlovskikh, J. Staehelin, T. August, P. K. Bhartia, C. Clerbaux, D. Degenstein, M. De Mazière, B. M. Dinelli, A. Dudhia, G. Dufour, S. M. Frith, L. Froidevaux, S. Godin-Beekmann, J. Granville, N. R. P. Harris, K. Hoppel, D. Hubert, Y. Kasai, M. J. Kurylo, E. Kyrölä, J.-C. Lambert, P. F. Levelt, C. T. McElroy, R. D. McPeters, R. Munro, H. Nakajima, A. Parrish, P. Raspollini, E. E. Remsberg, K. H. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, T. Sano, Y. Sasano, M. Shiotani, H. G. J. Smit, G. Stiller, J. Tamminen, D. W. Tarasick, J. Urban, R. J. van der A, J. P. Veefkind, C. Vigouroux, T. von Clarmann, C. von Savigny, K. A. Walker, M. Weber, J. Wild, and J. M. Zawodny
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1395-2014, 2014
C. H. Jackman, C. E. Randall, V. L. Harvey, S. Wang, E. L. Fleming, M. López-Puertas, B. Funke, and P. F. Bernath
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1025–1038, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1025-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1025-2014, 2014
E. E. Remsberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1039–1053, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1039-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1039-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Data Processing and Information Retrieval
Why we need radar, lidar, and solar radiance observations to constrain ice cloud microphysics
Estimating the optical extinction of liquid water clouds in the cloud base region
W-band radar observations for fog forecast improvement: an analysis of model and forward operator errors
Identification of snowfall microphysical processes from Eulerian vertical gradients of polarimetric radar variables
Identifying insects, clouds, and precipitation using vertically pointing polarimetric radar Doppler velocity spectra
MICRU: an effective cloud fraction algorithm designed for UV–vis satellite instruments with large viewing angles
A simplified method for the detection of convection using high-resolution imagery from GOES-16
Introducing hydrometeor orientation into all-sky microwave and submillimeter assimilation
Version 4 CALIPSO Imaging Infrared Radiometer ice and liquid water cloud microphysical properties – Part II: Results over oceans
Version 4 CALIPSO Imaging Infrared Radiometer ice and liquid water cloud microphysical properties – Part I: The retrieval algorithms
Observation of cirrus clouds with GLORIA during the WISE campaign: detection methods and cirrus characterization
Applying machine learning methods to detect convection using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16 (GOES-16) advanced baseline imager (ABI) data
Physical characteristics of frozen hydrometeors inferred with parameter estimation
A new method to detect and classify polar stratospheric nitric acid trihydrate clouds derived from radiative transfer simulations and its first application to airborne infrared limb emission observations
A study of polarimetric error induced by satellite motion: application to the 3MI and similar sensors
A robust low-level cloud and clutter discrimination method for ground-based millimeter-wavelength cloud radar
Two-dimensional and multi-channel feature detection algorithm for the CALIPSO lidar measurements
Analysis of 3D cloud effects in OCO-2 XCO2 retrievals
Improving cloud type classification of ground-based images using region covariance descriptors
Cloud height measurement by a network of all-sky-imagers
Global cloud property models for real-time triage on board visible–shortwave infrared spectrometers
Applying deep learning to NASA MODIS data to create a community record of marine low-cloud mesoscale morphology
Microwave single-scattering properties of non-spheroidal raindrops
Determining cloud thermodynamic phase from the polarized Micro Pulse Lidar
Improved cloud detection over sea ice and snow during Arctic summer using MERIS data
Increasing the spatial resolution of cloud property retrievals from Meteosat SEVIRI by use of its high-resolution visible channel: implementation and examples
A kernel-driven BRDF model to inform satellite-derived visible anvil cloud detection
Cloud-top pressure retrieval with DSCOVR EPIC oxygen A- and B-band observations
Estimating total attenuation using Rayleigh targets at cloud top: applications in multilayer and mixed-phase clouds observed by ground-based multifrequency radars
A new Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 cloud flagging method and rapid retrieval of marine boundary layer cloud properties
CALIOP V4 cloud thermodynamic phase assignment and the impact of near-nadir viewing angles
Detection of the cloud liquid water path horizontal inhomogeneity in a coastline area by means of ground-based microwave observations: feasibility study
Synergistic radar and radiometer retrievals of ice hydrometeors
Improvement in cloud retrievals from VIIRS through the use of infrared absorption channels constructed from VIIRS+CrIS data fusion
Using two-stream theory to capture fluctuations of satellite-perceived TOA SW radiances reflected from clouds over ocean
Exploration of machine learning methods for the classification of infrared limb spectra of polar stratospheric clouds
Three-dimensional wind profiles using a stabilized shipborne cloud radar in wind profiler mode
Low-level liquid cloud properties during ORACLES retrieved using airborne polarimetric measurements and a neural network algorithm
A machine-learning-based cloud detection and thermodynamic-phase classification algorithm using passive spectral observations
SegCloud: a novel cloud image segmentation model using a deep convolutional neural network for ground-based all-sky-view camera observation
Spatial distribution of cloud droplet size properties from Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (AirHARP) measurements
Towards objective identification and tracking of convective outflow boundaries in next-generation geostationary satellite imagery
Cloud detection over snow and ice with oxygen A- and B-band observations from the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC)
Ground-based observations of cloud and drizzle liquid water path in stratocumulus clouds
Increasing the spatial resolution of cloud property retrievals from Meteosat SEVIRI by use of its high-resolution visible channel: evaluation of candidate approaches with MODIS observations
Estimation of cloud optical thickness, single scattering albedo and effective droplet radius using a shortwave radiative closure study in Payerne
Towards an operational Ice Cloud Imager (ICI) retrieval product
Ice crystal number concentration from lidar, cloud radar and radar wind profiler measurements
Retrieval of cloud properties from spectral zenith radiances observed by sky radiometers
A new approach to estimate supersaturation fluctuations in stratocumulus cloud using ground-based remote-sensing measurements
Florian Ewald, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Julien Delanoë, Stuart Fox, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5029–5047, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, 2021
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In this study, we show how solar radiance observations can be used to validate and further constrain ice cloud microphysics retrieved from the synergy of radar–lidar measurements. Since most radar–lidar retrievals rely on a global assumption about the ice particle shape, ice water content and particle size biases are to be expected in individual cloud regimes. In this work, we identify and correct these biases by reconciling simulated and measured solar radiation reflected from these clouds.
Karolina Sarna, David P. Donovan, and Herman W. J. Russchenberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4959–4970, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4959-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4959-2021, 2021
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We show a method for obtaining cloud optical extinction with a lidar system. We use a scheme in which a lidar signal is inverted based on the estimated value of cloud extinction at the far end of the cloud and apply a correction for multiple scattering within the cloud and a range resolution correction. By applying our technique, we show that it is possible to obtain the cloud optical extinction with an error better than 5 % up to 90 m within the cloud.
Alistair Bell, Pauline Martinet, Olivier Caumont, Benoît Vié, Julien Delanoë, Jean-Charles Dupont, and Mary Borderies
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4929–4946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4929-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4929-2021, 2021
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This paper presents work towards making retrievals on the liquid water content in fog and low clouds. Future retrievals will rely on a radar simulator and high-resolution forecast. In this work, real observations are used to assess the errors associated with the simulator and forecast. A selection method to reduce errors associated with the forecast is proposed. It is concluded that the distribution of errors matches the requirements for future retrievals.
Noémie Planat, Josué Gehring, Étienne Vignon, and Alexis Berne
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4543–4564, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4543-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4543-2021, 2021
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We implement a new method to identify microphysical processes during cold precipitation events based on the sign of the vertical gradient of polarimetric radar variables. We analytically asses the meteorological conditions for this vertical analysis to hold, apply it on two study cases and successfully compare it with other methods informing about the microphysics. Finally, we are able to obtain the main vertical structure and characteristics of the different processes during these study cases.
Christopher R. Williams, Karen L. Johnson, Scott E. Giangrande, Joseph C. Hardin, Ruşen Öktem, and David M. Romps
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4425–4444, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4425-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4425-2021, 2021
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In addition to detecting clouds, vertically pointing cloud radars detect individual insects passing over head. If these insects are not identified and removed from raw observations, then radar-derived cloud properties will be contaminated. This work identifies clouds in radar observations due to their continuous and smooth structure in time, height, and velocity. Cloud masks are produced that identify cloud vertical structure that are free of insect contamination.
Holger Sihler, Steffen Beirle, Steffen Dörner, Marloes Gutenstein-Penning de Vries, Christoph Hörmann, Christian Borger, Simon Warnach, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3989–4031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3989-2021, 2021
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MICRU is an algorithm for the retrieval of effective cloud fractions (CFs) from satellite measurements. CFs describe the amount of clouds, which have a significant impact on the vertical sensitivity profile of trace gases like NO2 and HCHO. MICRU retrieves small CFs with an accuracy of 0.04 over the entire satellite swath. It features an empirical surface reflectivity model accounting for physical anisotropy (BRDF, sun glitter) and instrumental effects. MICRU is also applicable to imager data.
Yoonjin Lee, Christian D. Kummerow, and Milija Zupanski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3755–3771, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3755-2021, 2021
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This study suggests two methods to detect convection using 1 min data from GOES-16: one method detects early convective clouds using their vertical growth rate and the other method detects mature convective clouds using their lumpy cloud top surfaces. Applying the two methods to 1-month data showed that the accuracy of the combined methods was 85.8 % and showed their potential to be used in regions where radar data are not available.
Vasileios Barlakas, Alan J. Geer, and Patrick Eriksson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3427–3447, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3427-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3427-2021, 2021
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Oriented nonspherical ice particles induce polarization that is ignored when cloud-sensitive satellite observations are used in numerical weather prediction systems. We present a simple approach for approximating particle orientation, requiring minor adaption of software and no additional calculation burden. With this approach, the system realistically simulates the observed polarization patterns, increasing the physical consistency between instruments with different polarizations.
Anne Garnier, Jacques Pelon, Nicolas Pascal, Mark A. Vaughan, Philippe Dubuisson, Ping Yang, and David L. Mitchell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3277–3299, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3277-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3277-2021, 2021
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The IIR Level 2 data products include cloud effective emissivities and cloud microphysical properties such as effective diameter (De) and ice or liquid water path estimates. This paper (Part II) shows retrievals over ocean and describes the improvements made with respect to version 3 as a result of the significant changes implemented in the version 4 algorithms, which are presented in a companion paper (Part I).
Anne Garnier, Jacques Pelon, Nicolas Pascal, Mark A. Vaughan, Philippe Dubuisson, Ping Yang, and David L. Mitchell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3253–3276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3253-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3253-2021, 2021
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The IIR Level 2 data products include cloud effective emissivities and cloud microphysical properties such as effective diameter (De) and ice or liquid water path estimates. This paper (Part I) describes the improvements in the V4 algorithms compared to those used in the version 3 (V3) release, while results are presented in a companion paper (Part II).
Irene Bartolome Garcia, Reinhold Spang, Jörn Ungermann, Sabine Griessbach, Martina Krämer, Michael Höpfner, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3153–3168, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3153-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3153-2021, 2021
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Cirrus clouds contribute to the general radiation budget of the Earth. Measuring optically thin clouds is challenging but the IR limb sounder GLORIA possesses the necessary technical characteristics to make it possible. This study analyses data from the WISE campaign obtained with GLORIA. We developed a cloud detection method and derived characteristics of the observed cirrus-like cloud top, cloud bottom or position with respect to the tropopause.
Yoonjin Lee, Christian D. Kummerow, and Imme Ebert-Uphoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2699–2716, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2699-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2699-2021, 2021
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Convective clouds are usually associated with intense rain that can cause severe damage, and thus it is important to accurately detect convective clouds. This study develops a machine learning model that can identify convective clouds from five temporal visible and infrared images as humans can point at convective regions by finding bright and bubbling areas. The results look promising when compared to radar-derived products, which are commonly used for detecting convection.
Alan J. Geer
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-50, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-50, 2021
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Satellite observations sensitive to cloud and precipitation help improve the quality of weather forecasts. However, they are sensitive to things that models do not forecast, such as the shapes and sizes of snow and ice particles. These details can be estimated from the observations themselves, and then incorporated in the satellite simulators used in weather forecasting. This approach, known as parameter estimation, will be increasingly useful to build models of poorly known physical processes.
Christoph Kalicinsky, Sabine Griessbach, and Reinhold Spang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1893–1915, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1893-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1893-2021, 2021
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For an airborne viewing geometry, radiative transfer simulations of infrared limb emission spectra in the presence of polar stratospheric clouds – nitric acid trihydrate (NAT), supercooled ternary solution, ice, and mixtures – were used to develop a size-sensitive NAT detection algorithm. Characteristic size-dependent spectral features in the 810–820 cm−1 region were exploited to subgroup the NAT into three size regimes: small NAT (≤ 1.0 μm), medium NAT (1.5–4.0 μm), and large NAT (≥ 3.5 μm).
Souichiro Hioki, Jérôme Riedi, and Mohamed S. Djellali
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1801–1816, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1801-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1801-2021, 2021
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This research estimates the magnitude of a motion-induced error in the measurement of polarimetric state of light by a planned instrument on a future satellite. We discovered that the motion-induced error can not be cancelled out by spatiotemporal averaging, but it can be predicted from the along-track change of the intensity of light. With the estimated statistics and the simulation model, this research paves a way to provide pixel-level quality information in the future satellite products.
Xiaoyu Hu, Jinming Ge, Jiajing Du, Qinghao Li, Jianping Huang, and Qiang Fu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1743–1759, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1743-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1743-2021, 2021
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Cloud radars are powerful instruments that can probe detailed cloud structures. However, radar echoes in the lower atmosphere are always contaminated by clutter. We proposed a multi-dimensional probability distribution function that can effectively discriminate low-level clouds from clutter by considering their different features in several variables. We applied this method to the radar observations at the SACOL site and found the results have good agreement with lidar detection.
Thibault Vaillant de Guélis, Mark A. Vaughan, David M. Winker, and Zhaoyan Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1593–1613, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1593-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1593-2021, 2021
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We introduce a new lidar feature detection algorithm that dramatically improves the fine details of layers identified in the CALIOP data. By applying our two-dimensional scanning technique to the measurements in all three channels, we minimize false positives while accurately identifying previously undetected features such as subvisible cirrus and the full vertical extent of dense smoke plumes. Multiple comparisons to version 4.2 CALIOP retrievals illustrate the scope of the improvements made.
Steven T. Massie, Heather Cronk, Aronne Merrelli, Christopher O'Dell, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Hong Chen, and David Baker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1475–1499, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1475-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1475-2021, 2021
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The OCO-2 science team is working to retrieve CO2 measurements that can be used by the carbon cycle community to calculate regional sources and sinks of CO2. The retrieved data, however, are in need of improvements in accuracy. This paper discusses several ways in which 3D cloud metrics (such as the distance of a measurement to the nearest cloud) can be used to account for cloud effects in the OCO-2 CO2 data files.
Yuzhu Tang, Pinglv Yang, Zeming Zhou, Delu Pan, Jianyu Chen, and Xiaofeng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 737–747, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-737-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-737-2021, 2021
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An automatic cloud classification method on whole-sky images is presented. We first extract multiple pixel-level features to form region covariance descriptors (RCovDs) and then encode RCovDs by the Riemannian bag-of-feature (BoF) method to output the histogram representation. Reults show that a very high prediction accuracy can be obtained with a small number of training samples, which validate the proposed method and exhibit the competitive performance against state-of-the-art methods.
Niklas Benedikt Blum, Bijan Nouri, Stefan Wilbert, Thomas Schmidt, Ontje Lünsdorf, Jonas Stührenberg, Detlev Heinemann, Andreas Kazantzidis, and Robert Pitz-Paal
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-430, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-430, 2020
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Cloud base height (CBH) is important e.g. to forecast solar irradiance and with it photovoltaic production. All-sky-imagers (ASIs), cameras monitoring the sky above their point of installation, can provide such forecasts and also measure CBH. We present a network of ASIs to measure CBH. The network provides numerous readings of CBH simultaneously. We combine these by a statistical procedure. Validation attests significantly higher accuracy of the combination compared to two ASIs alone.
Macey W. Sandford, David R. Thompson, Robert O. Green, Brian H. Kahn, Raffaele Vitulli, Steve Chien, Amruta Yelamanchili, and Winston Olson-Duvall
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 7047–7057, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-7047-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-7047-2020, 2020
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We demonstrate an onboard cloud-screening approach to significantly reduce the amount of cloud-contaminated data transmitted from orbit. We have produced location-specific models that improve performance by taking into account the unique cloud statistics in different latitudes. We have shown that screening clouds based on their location or surface type will improve the ability for a cloud-screening tool to improve the volume of usable science data.
Tianle Yuan, Hua Song, Robert Wood, Johannes Mohrmann, Kerry Meyer, Lazaros Oreopoulos, and Steven Platnick
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6989–6997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6989-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6989-2020, 2020
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We use deep transfer learning techniques to classify satellite cloud images into different morphology types. It achieves the state-of-the-art results and can automatically process a large amount of satellite data. The algorithm will help low-cloud researchers to better understand their mesoscale organizations.
Robin Ekelund, Patrick Eriksson, and Michael Kahnert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6933–6944, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6933-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6933-2020, 2020
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Raindrops become flattened due to aerodynamic drag as they increase in mass and fall speed. This study calculated the electromagnetic interaction between microwave radiation and non-spheroidal raindrops. The calculations are made publicly available to the scientific community, in order to promote accurate representations of raindrops in measurements. Tests show that the drop shape can have a noticeable effect on microwave observations of heavy rainfall.
Jasper R. Lewis, James R. Campbell, Sebastian A. Stewart, Ivy Tan, Ellsworth J. Welton, and Simone Lolli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6901–6913, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6901-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6901-2020, 2020
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In this work, the authors describe a process to determine the thermodynamic cloud phase using the Micro Pulse Lidar Network volume depolarization ratio measurements and temperature profiles from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office GEOS-5 model. A multi-year analysis and comparisons to supercooled liquid water fractions derived from CALIPSO satellite measurements are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the method.
Larysa Istomina, Henrik Marks, Marcus Huntemann, Georg Heygster, and Gunnar Spreen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6459–6472, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6459-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6459-2020, 2020
Hartwig Deneke, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Sebastian Bley, Anja Hünerbein, Stephan Lenk, Andreas Macke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt, Fabian Senf, Ping Wang, Frank Werner, and Jonas Witthuhn
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-370, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-370, 2020
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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The SEVIRI instrument flown on the European geostationary METEOSAT satellites acquires multi-spectral images at a relatively coarse pixel resolution of 3 × 3 km2. SEVIRI also has a broadband high-resolution visible channel with 1 × 1 km2 spatial resolution. In the present study, the modification of an existing cloud property and solar irradiance retrieval to use this channel to improve the spatial resolution of its output products, and resulting benefits for applications are described.
Benjamin R. Scarino, Kristopher Bedka, Rajendra Bhatt, Konstantin Khlopenkov, David R. Doelling, and William L. Smith Jr.
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5491–5511, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5491-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5491-2020, 2020
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This paper highlights a technique for facilitating anvil cloud detection based on visible observations that relies on comparative analysis with expected cloud reflectance for a given set of angles. A 1-year database of anvil-identified pixels, as determined from IR observations, from several geostationary satellites was used to construct a bidirectional reflectance distribution function model to quantify typical anvil reflectance across almost all expected viewing, solar, and azimuth angles.
Bangsheng Yin, Qilong Min, Emily Morgan, Yuekui Yang, Alexander Marshak, and Anthony B. Davis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5259–5275, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5259-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5259-2020, 2020
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Cloud-top pressure (CTP) is an important cloud property for climate and weather studies. Based on differential oxygen absorption, both oxygen A-band and B-band pairs can be used to retrieve CTP. However, it is currently very challenging to perform a CTP retrieval accurately due to the complicated in-cloud penetration effect. To address this issue, we propose an analytic transfer inverse model for DSCOVR EPIC observations to retrieve CTP considering in-cloud photon penetration.
Frédéric Tridon, Alessandro Battaglia, and Stefan Kneifel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5065–5085, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5065-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5065-2020, 2020
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The droplets and ice crystals composing clouds and precipitation interact with microwaves and can therefore be observed by radars, but they can also attenuate the signal they emit. By combining the observations made by two ground-based radars, this study describes an original approach for estimating such attenuation. As a result, the latter can be not only corrected in the radar observations but also exploited for providing an accurate characterization of droplet and ice crystal properties.
Mark Richardson, Matthew D. Lebsock, James McDuffie, and Graeme L. Stephens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4947–4961, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4947-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4947-2020, 2020
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We previously combined CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) lidar data and reflected-sunlight measurements from OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2) for information about low clouds over oceans. The satellites are no longer formation-flying, so this work is a step towards getting new information about these clouds using only OCO-2. We can rapidly and accurately identify liquid oceanic clouds and obtain their height better than a widely used passive sensor.
Melody A. Avery, Robert A. Ryan, Brian J. Getzewich, Mark A. Vaughan, David M. Winker, Yongxiang Hu, Anne Garnier, Jacques Pelon, and Carolus A. Verhappen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4539–4563, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4539-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4539-2020, 2020
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CALIOP data users will find more cloud layers detected in V4, with edges that extend further than in V3, for an increase in total atmospheric cloud volume of 6 %–9 % for high-confidence cloud phases and 1 %–2 % for all cloudy bins, including cloud fringes and unknown cloud phases. In V4 there are many fewer cloud layers identified as horizontally oriented ice, particularly in the 3° off-nadir view. Depolarization at 532 nm is the predominant parameter determining cloud thermodynamic phase.
Vladimir S. Kostsov, Dmitry V. Ionov, and Anke Kniffka
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4565–4587, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4565-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4565-2020, 2020
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Previously, observations from satellites provided evidence for systematic differences between the values of the cloud liquid water path over land and water areas in northern Europe. An attempt is made to detect such differences by means of ground-based microwave measurements performed near the coastline of the Gulf of Finland. The results demonstrate the existence of the cloud liquid water path gradient, which is positive as in the case of the satellite measurements (larger values over land).
Simon Pfreundschuh, Patrick Eriksson, Stefan A. Buehler, Manfred Brath, David Duncan, Richard Larsson, and Robin Ekelund
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4219–4245, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4219-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4219-2020, 2020
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The next generation of European operational weather satellites will carry a novel microwave sensor, the Ice Cloud Imager (ICI), which will provide observations of clouds at microwave frequencies that were not available before. We investigate the potential benefits of combining observations from ICI with that of a radar. We find that such combined observations provide additional information on the properties of the cloud and help to reduce uncertainties in retrieved mass and number densities.
Yue Li, Bryan A. Baum, Andrew K. Heidinger, W. Paul Menzel, and Elisabeth Weisz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4035–4049, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4035-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4035-2020, 2020
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Use of VIIRS+CrIS fusion products, which provide VIIRS with MODIS-like IR sounding channels, improves cloud mask, cloud phase, and cloud top height retrievals when compared to those using VIIRS data only. NOAA CLAVR-x cloud retrievals for both S-NPP and NOAA-20 data are evaluated through comparisons to the CALIPSO v4 and MODIS Collection 6.1 cloud products. Cloud height retrievals show significant improvement for semitransparent ice clouds, with a reduction in retrieval uncertainties.
Florian Tornow, Carlos Domenech, Howard W. Barker, René Preusker, and Jürgen Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3909–3922, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3909-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3909-2020, 2020
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Clouds reflect sunlight unevenly, which makes it difficult to quantify the portion reflected back to space via satellite observation. To improve quantification, we propose a new statistical model that incorporates more satellite-inferred cloud and atmospheric properties than state-of-the-art models. We use concepts from radiative transfer theory that we statistically optimize to fit observations. The new model often explains past satellite observations better and predicts reflection plausibly.
Rocco Sedona, Lars Hoffmann, Reinhold Spang, Gabriele Cavallaro, Sabine Griessbach, Michael Höpfner, Matthias Book, and Morris Riedel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3661–3682, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3661-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3661-2020, 2020
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Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play a key role in polar ozone depletion in the stratosphere. In this paper, we explore the potential of applying machine learning (ML) methods to classify PSC observations of infrared spectra to classify PSC types. ML methods have proved to reach results in line with those obtained using well-established approaches. Among the considered ML methods, random forest (RF) seems to be the most promising one, being able to produce explainable classification results.
Alain Protat and Ian McRobert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3609–3620, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3609-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3609-2020, 2020
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Three-dimensional (3D) wind motions play a major role in driving the life cycle of clouds. In this pilot study we have developed a technique to measure the 3D winds in clouds, using a shipborne Doppler cloud radar on a stabilized platform. The stabilized platform is driven to point in a series of predefined directions to collect the required measurements. Comparisons with radiosondes demonstrate that accurate 1 min resolution 3D wind motions can be obtained from this instrumental setup.
Daniel J. Miller, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Kirk Knobelspiesse, Jens Redemann, Brian Cairns, Mikhail Alexandrov, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, and Andrzej Wasilewski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3447–3470, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3447-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3447-2020, 2020
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A neural network (NN) is developed and used to retrieve cloud microphysical properties from multiangular and multispectral polarimetric remote sensing observations. The NN is applied to research scanning polarimeter (RSP) observations obtained during the ORACLES field campaign and compared to other co-located remote sensing retrievals of cloud effective radius and optical thickness. A NN approach can advance more complex iterative search retrieval algorithms by providing a quick initial guess.
Chenxi Wang, Steven Platnick, Kerry Meyer, Zhibo Zhang, and Yaping Zhou
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2257–2277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2257-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2257-2020, 2020
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A machine-learning (ML)-based approach that can be used for cloud mask and phase detection is developed. An all-day model that uses infrared (IR) observations and a daytime model that uses shortwave and IR observations from a passive instrument are trained separately for different surface types. The training datasets are selected by using reference pixel types from collocated space lidar. The ML approach is validated carefully and the overall performance is better than traditional methods.
Wanyi Xie, Dong Liu, Ming Yang, Shaoqing Chen, Benge Wang, Zhenzhu Wang, Yingwei Xia, Yong Liu, Yiren Wang, and Chaofang Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1953–1961, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1953-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1953-2020, 2020
Brent A. McBride, J. Vanderlei Martins, Henrique M. J. Barbosa, William Birmingham, and Lorraine A. Remer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1777–1796, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1777-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1777-2020, 2020
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Clouds play a large role in the way our Earth system distributes energy. The measurement of cloud droplet size distribution (DSD) is one way to connect small-scale cloud processes to scattered radiation. Our small satellite instrument, the Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter, is the first to infer DSDs over a wide spatial cloud field using polarized light. This study improves the way we interpret cloud properties and shows that high-quality science does not require a large taxpayer cost.
Jason M. Apke, Kyle A. Hilburn, Steven D. Miller, and David A. Peterson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1593–1608, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1593-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1593-2020, 2020
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Objective identification of deep convection outflow boundaries (OFBs) in next-generation geostationary satellite imagery is explored here using motion derived from a tuned advanced optical flow algorithm. Motion discontinuity preservation within the derivation is found crucial for successful OFB tracking between images, which yields new meteorological data for objective systems to use. These results provide the first step towards a fully automated satellite-based OFB identification algorithm.
Yaping Zhou, Yuekui Yang, Meng Gao, and Peng-Wang Zhai
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1575–1591, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1575-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1575-2020, 2020
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Satellite cloud detection over snow and ice has been difficult for passive remote sensing instruments due to the lack of contrast between clouds and the bright and cold surfaces; the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on board the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) has very limited channels. This study investigates the methodology of applying EPIC's two oxygen absorption band pair ratios for cloud detection over snow and ice surfaces.
Maria P. Cadeddu, Virendra P. Ghate, and Mario Mech
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1485–1499, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1485-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1485-2020, 2020
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A combination of ground-based active and passive observations is used to partition cloud and precipitation liquid water path in precipitating stratocumulous clouds. Results show that neglecting scattering effects from drizzle drops leads to 8–15 % overestimation of the liquid amount in the cloud. In closed-cell systems only ~20 % of the available drizzle in the cloud falls below the cloud base, compared to ~40 % in open-cell systems.
Frank Werner and Hartwig Deneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1089–1111, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1089-2020, 2020
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The reliability of remotely sensed cloud variables from space depends on the horizontal resolution of the instrument. This study presents and evaluates several candidate approaches for increasing the spatial resolution of observations from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) from the native 3 km scale to a horizontal resolution of 1 km. It is shown that uncertainties in the derived cloud products can be significantly mitigated by applying an appropriate downscaling scheme.
Christine Aebi, Julian Gröbner, Stelios Kazadzis, Laurent Vuilleumier, Antonis Gkikas, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 907–923, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-907-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-907-2020, 2020
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Clouds are one of the largest sources of uncertainties in climate models. The current study estimates the cloud optical thickness (COT), the effective droplet radius and the single scattering albedo of stratus–altostratus and cirrus–cirrostratus clouds in Payerne, Switzerland, by combining ground- and satellite-based measurements and radiative transfer models. The estimated values are thereafter compared with data retrieved from other methods. The mean COT is distinct for different seasons.
Patrick Eriksson, Bengt Rydberg, Vinia Mattioli, Anke Thoss, Christophe Accadia, Ulf Klein, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 53–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-53-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-53-2020, 2020
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The Ice Cloud Imager (ICI) will be the first operational satellite sensor operating at sub-millimetre wavelengths and this novel mission will thus provide important new data to weather forecasting and climate studies. The series of ICI instruments will together cover about 20 years. This article presents the basic technical characteristics of the sensor and outlines the day-one operational retrievals. An updated estimation of the expected retrieval performance is also presented.
Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Martin Radenz, Holger Baars, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6601–6617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6601-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6601-2019, 2019
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In the present paper, we present a novel remote-sensing technique for the measurement of ice crystal number concentrations in clouds. The fall velocity of ice crystals measured with values from cloud radar and a radar wind profiler is used in order to derive information about ice crystal size and number concentration. In contrast to existing methods based on the combination of lidar and cloud radar, the present method can also be used in optically thick clouds.
Pradeep Khatri, Hironobu Iwabuchi, Tadahiro Hayasaka, Hitoshi Irie, Tamio Takamura, Akihiro Yamazaki, Alessandro Damiani, Husi Letu, and Qin Kai
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6037–6047, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6037-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6037-2019, 2019
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In an attempt to make cloud retrievals from the surface more common and convenient, we developed a cloud retrieval algorithm applicable for sky radiometers. It is based on an optimum method by fitting measured transmittances with modeled values. Further, a cost-effective and easy-to-use calibration procedure is proposed and validated using data obtained from the standard method. A detailed error analysis and quality assessment are also performed.
Fan Yang, Robert McGraw, Edward P. Luke, Damao Zhang, Pavlos Kollias, and Andrew M. Vogelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5817–5828, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5817-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5817-2019, 2019
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In-cloud supersaturation is crucial for droplet activation, growth, and drizzle initiation but is poorly known and hardly measured. Here we provide a novel method to estimate supersaturation fluctuation in stratocumulus clouds using remote-sensing measurements, and results show that our estimated supersaturation agrees reasonably well with in situ measurements. Our method provides a unique way to estimate supersaturation in stratocumulus clouds from long-term ground-based observations.
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Short summary
Emissions from polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) particles affect the retrieved ozone and water vapor from the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) satellite experiment. Threshold criteria are applied to the retrieved ozone for the detection and screening of those effects. The PSC effects correlate very well with regions of coldest temperatures (< 194 K) within the polar vortex. Retrieved nitric acid vapor is affected much less, and there is evidence of its uptake in regions of PSCs.
Emissions from polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) particles affect the retrieved ozone and water...
