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The detection of ice clouds from remote measurements of their emission in the far infra‐red
Author(s) -
Houghton J. T.,
Hunt G. E.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49709741102
Subject(s) - cirrus , wavelength , radiometer , atmosphere (unit) , far infrared , remote sensing , ice cloud , environmental science , satellite , scattering , atmospheric sciences , infrared , materials science , physics , optics , meteorology , geology , astronomy
It is demonstrated that a pair of wavelengths can be chosen in the far infra‐red such that the absorbing properties of water‐vapour are the same at the two wavelengths while the scattering and absorbing properties of ice particles are different. The results of calculations show that emission from the atmosphere as observed by a satellite radiometer at the two wavelengths will be sensitive to the presence of cirrus cloud. From such measurements of emission near 50μ and 120 μ in wavelength, an indication of the thickness of the cloud can be obtained. Supporting measurements near 2.6 μ will also supply information regarding the particle size in the cloud.