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Linear relation between convective cloud base height and updrafts and application to satellite retrievals
Author(s) -
Zheng Youtong,
Rosenfeld Daniel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064809
Subject(s) - cloud base , satellite , lidar , cloud top , mean squared error , meteorology , environmental science , cloud height , mean absolute percentage error , remote sensing , cloud computing , radar , planetary boundary layer , atmospheric sciences , cloud cover , geology , mathematics , geography , physics , statistics , computer science , telecommunications , turbulence , astronomy , operating system
Measurements done by the Department of Energy/Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program, at the Southern Great Plains, the central Amazon, and on board an oceangoing ship between Honolulu and Los Angeles, show that updraft speeds measured by Doppler lidar and 95 GHz cloud radar are tightly linearly correlated with cloud base height ( H b ). Based on these relationships, a method of satellite retrieval of maximum ( W max ) and cloud base ( W b ) updraft speeds in cloud topped planetary boundary layer is proposed. H b , as an input for updraft estimation, is obtained from satellite‐retrieved cloud base temperature in combination with 2 m air temperature derived from European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis. Validation by the lidar and radar measurements shows good agreements for the satellite retrieval of W max with RMSE (root‐mean‐square error) = 0.38 m/s and MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) = 19% and W b with RMSE = 0.34 m/s and MAPE = 21%.