Open AccessA new IR technique for monitoring low cloud properties using geostationary satellite data
Author(s) -
Han Qingyuan,
Brenguier JeanLouis,
Kuo KuoSen,
Naeger Aaron
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl.218
Subject(s) - radiance , geostationary orbit , satellite , remote sensing , emissivity , environmental science , cloud computing , radiative transfer , meteorology , infrared , cloud top , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , geostationary operational environmental satellite , computer science , geology , aerospace engineering , physics , optics , engineering , operating system
A new technique of using satellite infrared radiance data for retrieving cloud properties is developed and applied to SEVIRI data, which is based on direct radiative transfer calculations, not on the emissivity approximation as used by other satellite IR only techniques. Instantaneous atmospheric profiles are used in the new technique for improving the accuracy of retrievals. Comparison of the retrieved results with coincident observations of CloudSat and CALIPSO shows excellent agreement for low clouds. This study shows that, using only IR radiances, the single layer assumption would significantly underestimate cloud optical depth when multilayered cloud system is presented. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society