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New insights about cloud vertical structure from CloudSat and CALIPSO observations
Author(s) -
Oreopoulos Lazaros,
Cho Nayeong,
Lee Dongmin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2017jd026629
Subject(s) - lidar , environmental science , troposphere , daytime , cloud top , cloud height , radiative transfer , atmospheric sciences , cloud feedback , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , cloud computing , meteorology , remote sensing , climate model , cloud cover , climatology , climate change , geology , climate sensitivity , geography , satellite , computer science , quantum mechanics , physics , oceanography , engineering , aerospace engineering , operating system
Active cloud observations from A‐Train's CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites offer new opportunities to examine the vertical structure of hydrometeor layers. We use the 2B‐CLDCLASS‐LIDAR merged CloudSat‐CALIPSO product to examine global aspects of hydrometeor vertical stratification. We group the data into major cloud vertical structure (CVS) classes based on our interpretation of how clouds in three standard atmospheric layers overlap and provide their global frequency of occurrence. The two most frequent CVS classes are single‐layer (per our definition) low and high clouds that represent ~53% of cloudy skies, followed by high clouds overlying low clouds, and vertically extensive clouds that occupy near‐contiguously a large portion of the troposphere. The prevalence of these configurations changes seasonally and geographically, between daytime and nighttime, and between continents and oceans. The radiative effects of the CVS classes reveal the major radiative warmers and coolers from the perspective of the planet as a whole, the surface, and the atmosphere. Single‐layer low clouds dominate planetary and atmospheric cooling and thermal infrared surface warming. We also investigate the consistency between passive and active views of clouds by providing the CVS breakdowns of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer cloud regimes for spatiotemporally coincident MODIS‐Aqua (also on the A‐Train) and CloudSat‐CALIPSO daytime observations. When the analysis is expanded for a more in‐depth look at the most heterogeneous of the MODIS cloud regimes, it ultimately confirms previous interpretations of their makeup that did not have the benefit of collocated active observations.