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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

H2O-H2SO4 system in Venus' clouds and OCS, CO, and H2SO4 profiles in Venus' troposphere

A coupled problem of diffusion and condensation is solved for the H2SO4-H2O system in Venus' cloud layer. The position of the lower cloud boundary and profiles of the H2O and H2SO4 vapor mixing ratios and of the H2O/H2SO4 ratio of sulfuric acid aerosol and its flux are calculated as functions of the column photochemical production rate of sulfuric acid, Phi(sub H2SO4). Variations of the lower cloud boundary are considered. Our basic model, which is constrained to yield f(sub H2O) (30 km) = 30 ppm (Pollack et al. 1993), predicts the position of the lower cloud boundary at 48.4 km coinciding with the mean Pioneer Venus value, the peak H2SO4 mixing ratio of 5.4 ppm, and the H2SO4 production rate Phi(sub H2SO4) = 2.2 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm/s. The sulfur to sulfuric acid mass flux ratio in the clouds is 1:27 in this model, and the mass loading ratio may be larger than this value if sulfur particles are smaller than those of sulfuric acid. The model suggests that the extinction coefficient of sulfuric acid particles with radius 3.7 micrometers (mode 3) is equal to 0.3/km in the middle cloud layer. The downward flux of CO is equal to 1.7 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm/s in this model. Our second model, which is constrained to yield f(sub H2O) = 10 ppm at the lower cloud boundary, close to the value measured by the Magellan radiooccultations, predicts the position of this boundary to be at 46.5 km, which agrees with the Magellan data; f(sub H2O) (30 km) = 90 ppm, close to the data of Moroz et al. (1983) at this altitude; Phi(sub H2SO4) = 6.4 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm/s; and Phi(sub co) = 4.2 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm/s. The S/H2SO4 flux mass ratio is 1:18, and the extinction coefficient of the mode 3 sulfuric acid particles is equal to 0.9 km in the middle cloud layer. A strong gradient of the H2SO4 vapor mixing ratio near the bottom of the cloud layer drives a large upward flux of H2SO4, which condenses and forms the excessive downward flux of liquid sulfuric acid, which is larger by a factor of 4-7 than the flux in the middle cloud layer. This is the mechanism of formation of the lower cloud layer. Variations of the lower cloud layer are discussed. Our modeling of the OCS and CO profiles in the lower atmosphere measured by Pollack et al. (1993) provides a reasonable explanation of these data and shows that the rate coefficient of the reaction SO3 + CO yields CO2 + SO2 is equal to 10(exp -11) exp(-(13,100 +/- 1000)/T) cc/s. The main channel of the reaction between SO3 and OCS is CO2 + (SO)2, and its rate coefficient is equal to 10(exp -11) exp(-(8900 +/- 500)/T) cc/s. In the conditions of Venus' lower atmosphere, (SO)2 is removed by the reaction (SO)2 + OCS yields CO + S2 + SO2. The model predicts an OCS mixing ratio of 28 ppm near the surface.

Krasnopolsky, V. A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessing Clouds in GFDL's AM4.0 With Different Microphysical Parameterizations Using the Satellite Simulator Package COSP

We evaluate cloud simulations using satellite simulators against multiple observational data sets. These simulators have been run within the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's Atmosphere Model version 4.0 (AM4.0), as well as an alternative configuration where a fully two‐moment Morrison‐Gettelman cloud microphysical parameterization with prognostic precipitation (MG2) is applied, denoted as AM4‐MG2. The modeled cloud spatial distributions, vertical profiles, phase partitioning, cloud‐to‐precipitation transitions, and radiative effects compare reasonably well with satellite observations. Model biases include the under‐prediction of total and low‐level clouds, especially optically thin/intermediate clouds with cloud optical depth of less than 23, but the over‐prediction of thick clouds, indicating “too few, too bright” biases. These biases counteract each other, and give rise to reasonable estimates of cloud radiative effects. The underestimate of low‐level clouds is associated with too early and too frequent drizzle/precipitation formation. The precipitation bias is improved in AM4‐MG2, where the autoconversion scheme initiates the precipitation more realistically. There also exist discrepancies between models and observations for midlevel and high‐level clouds. Additional biases include the underestimate of liquid cloud fraction and the overestimate of ice cloud fraction.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Seasonal and optical characterisation of cirrus clouds over Indian sub-continent using LIDAR

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is an important remote sensing technique to study about the cirrus clouds. The subject of cirrus clouds and related climate is challenging one. The received scattered signal from Lidar contains information on the physical and optical properties of cirrus clouds. The Lidar profile of the cirrus cloud provides information on the optical characteristics like depolarisation ratio, lidar ratio and optical depth, which give knowledge about possible phase, structure and orientation of cloud particle that affect the radiative budgeting of cirrus clouds. The findings from the study are subjected to generate inputs for better climatic modelling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ka-Band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) Active Remote Sensing of Clouds (ARSCL) CloudSat Calibration (KAZRARSCL-CLOUDSAT) (Value-Added Product Report)

The Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar Active Remote Sensing of CLouds CloudSat-aligned (KAZRARSCL-CLOUDSAT) Value-Added Product (VAP) applies satellite-based reflectivity calibrations to KAZRARSCL data sets. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility has primarily used radar subsystem calibration monitoring to track cloud radar reflectivity drift over time, since reliable external calibration sources or other absolute references (such as corner reflectors) have historically been unavailable or impracticable. A study by Kollias et al. (2019) examined cloud reflectivity profiles observed with a well-characterized spaceborne downward-pointing millimeter cloud radar, operating as part of NASA’s CloudSat satellite mission (Tanelli et al. 2008). The Kollias team derived monthly statistical reflectivity offsets between CloudSat and the various generations of ARM cloud radars (millimeter wavelength cloud radar [MMCR], W-Band ARM Cloud Radar [WACR[, and Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar [KAZR]) for many, but not all, months at most fixed and mobile ARM sites over the period 2007-2017. These offsets, when available, are applied to the existing KAZRARSCL VAP products using the KAZRARSCL-CLOUDSAT VAP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1987

Far-infrared and submillimeter observations of interstellar clouds

Research in the use of FIR and sub-mm lines to provide data relevant to astrochemistry is examined. Spectroscopic features in the FIR and sub-mm are dominated by transitions from species of atoms and atomic ions, metal hydrides, and heavy molecules. The data of Lester et al.(1983) and Dinerstein et al. (1984) on the N/O abundance ratio are discussed. The N/O abundance ratio is analyzed as a function of the galactic radius, and the procedure for determining the N/O abundance ratio from the FIR and sub-mm lines is given. The conditions at the surface of molecular clouds and the chemical profile of molecular clouds are studied in the forbidden lines O I 63.18 and 145.53 microns and the forbidden line C II 157.74 microns. Results of recent FIR/sub-mm observations of post-shocked gas which relate to modeling the chemical processing that occurs in the wake of shock waves are considered.

Melnick, Gary↗
NASA NTRS2002

Derivation of Tropospheric Column Ozone from the EPTOMS/GOES Co-Located Data Sets using the Cloud Slicing Technique

A recently developed technique called cloud slicing used for deriving upper tropospheric ozone from the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument combined together with temperature-humidity and infrared radiometer (THIR) is no longer applicable to the Earth Probe TOMS (EPTOMS) because EPTOMS does not have an instrument to measure cloud top temperatures. For continuing monitoring of tropospheric ozone between 200-500hPa and testing the feasibility of this technique across spacecrafts, EPTOMS data are co-located in time and space with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8 infrared data for 2001 and early 2002, covering most of North and South America (45S-45N and 120W-30W). The maximum column amounts for the mid-latitudinal sites of the northern hemisphere are found in the March-May season. For the mid-latitudinal sites of the southern hemisphere, the highest column amounts are found in the September-November season, although overall seasonal variability is smaller than those of the northern hemisphere. The tropical sites show the weakest seasonal variability compared to higher latitudes. The derived results for selected sites are cross validated qualitatively with the seasonality of ozonesonde observations and the results from THIR analyses over the 1979-1984 time period due to the lack of available ozonesonde measurements to study sites for 2001. These comparisons show a reasonably good agreement among THIR, ozonesonde observations, and cloud slicing-derived column ozone. With very limited co-located EPTOMS/GOES data sets, the cloud slicing technique is still viable to derive the upper tropospheric column ozone. Two new variant approaches, High-Low (HL) cloud slicing and ozone profile derivation from cloud slicing are introduced to estimate column ozone amounts using the entire cloud information in the troposphere.

Ahn, C.↗
DOE OSTI2015

The relationship between interannual and long-term cloud feedbacks

The analyses of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 simulations suggest that climate models with more positive cloud feedback in response to interannual climate fluctuations also have more positive cloud feedback in response to long-term global warming. Ensemble mean vertical profiles of cloud change in response to interannual and long-term surface warming are similar, and the ensemble mean cloud feedback is positive on both timescales. However, the average long-term cloud feedback is smaller than the interannual cloud feedback, likely due to differences in surface warming pattern on the two timescales. Low cloud cover (LCC) change in response to interannual and long-term global surface warming is found to be well correlated across models and explains over half of the covariance between interannual and long-term cloud feedback. In conclusion, the intermodel correlation of LCC across timescales likely results from model-specific sensitivities of LCC to sea surface warming.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Soil Moisture‐Cloud‐Precipitation Feedback in the Lower Atmosphere From Functional Decomposition of Satellite Observations

Abstract The feedback of topsoil moisture (SM) content on convective clouds and precipitation is not well understood and represented in the current generation of weather and climate models. Here, we use functional decomposition of satellite‐derived SM and cloud vertical profiles (CVP) to quantify the relationship between SM and the vertical distribution of cloud water in the central US. High‐dimensional model representation is used to disentangle the contributions of SM and other land‐surface and atmospheric variables to the CVP. Results show that the sign and strength of the SM‐cloud‐precipitation feedback varies with cloud height and time lag and displays a large spatial variability. Positive anomalies in antecedent 7‐hr SM and land‐surface temperature enhance cloud reflectivity up to 4 dBZ in the lower atmosphere about 1–3 km above the surface. Our approach presents new insights into the SM‐cloud‐precipitation feedback and aids in the diagnosis of land‐atmosphere interactions simulated by weather and climate models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Ka-Band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) Instrument Handbook

The Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR) is a zenith-pointing Doppler cloud radar operating at approximately 35 GHz. The KAZR is an evolutionary follow-on radar to ARM's widely successful millimeter-wavelength cloud radar (MMCR). The main purpose of the KAZR is to provide vertical profiles of clouds by measuring the first three Doppler moments: reflectivity, radial Doppler velocity, and spectra width. At the sites where the dual-polarization measurements are made, the Doppler moments for the cross-polarization channel are also available. In addition to the moments, velocity spectra are also continuously recorded for each range gate.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Parameterization of the Extinction Coefficient in Ice and Mixed-Phase Arctic Clouds during the ISDAC Field Campaign

This report documents the history of attempts to directly measure cloud extinction, the current measurement device known as the Cloud Extinction Probe (CEP), specific problems with direct measurement of extinction coefficient, and the attempts made here to address these problems. Extinction coefficient is one of the fundamental microphysical parameters characterizing bulk properties of clouds. Knowledge of extinction coefficient is of crucial importance for radiative transfer calculations in weather prediction and climate models given that Earth's radiation budget (ERB) is modulated much by clouds. In order for a large-scale model to properly account for ERB and perturbations to it, it must ultimately be able to simulate cloud extinction coefficient well. In turn this requires adequate and simultaneous simulation of profiles of cloud water content and particle habit and size. Similarly, remote inference of cloud properties requires assumptions to be made about cloud phase and associated single-scattering properties, of which extinction coefficient is crucial. Hence, extinction coefficient plays an important role in both application and validation of methods for remote inference of cloud properties from data obtained from both satellite and surface sensors (e.g., Barker et al. 2008). While estimation of extinction coefficient within large-scale models is relatively straightforward for pure water droplets, thanks to Mie theory, mixed-phase and ice clouds still present problems. This is because of the myriad forms and sizes that crystals can achieve, each having their own unique extinction properties. For the foreseeable future, large-scale models will have to be content with diagnostic parametrization of crystal size and type. However, before they are able to provide satisfactory values needed for calculation of radiative transfer, they require the intermediate step of assigning single-scattering properties to particles. The most basic of these is extinction coefficient, yet it is rarely measured directly, and therefore verification of parametrizations is difficult. The obvious solution is to be able to measure microphysical properties and extinction at the same time and for the same volume. This is best done by in situ sampling by instruments mounted on either balloon or aircraft. The latter is the usual route and the one employed here. Yet the problem of actually measuring extinction coefficient directly for arbitrarily complicated particles still remains unsolved.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1994

Investigation of passive atmospheric sounding using millimeter and submillimeter wavelength channels

Progress by the Georgia Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Radio-science and Remote Sensing in developing techniques for passive microwave retrieval of water vapor profiles and cloud and precipitation parameters using millimeter and submillimeter wavelength channels is reviewed. Channels of particular interest are in the tropospheric transmission windows at 90, 166, 220, 340, and 410 GHz and centered around the water vapor lines at 183 and 325 GHz. Collectively, these channels have potential application in high-resolution precipitation mapping (e.g., from geosynchronous orbit), remote sensing of cloud and precipitation parameters, including cirrus ice mass, and improved retrieval of water vapor profiles. During the period from January 1, 1994 through June 30, 1994 research activities focussed on calibrating and interpreting data from the Millimeter-Wave Imaging Radiometer (MIR). The MIR was deployed on the NASA ER-2 during the Convective Atmospheric Moisture Experiment (CAMEX, September-October 1993) to obtain the first submillimeter-wave tropospheric imagery of convective precipitations. A 325-GHz radiometer consisted of a submillimeter-wave DSB receiver with three IF channels at +/- 1, 3, and 8.5 GHz, and approximately 14 dB DSB noise figure was successfully operated during these experiments. Activities supported under this grant include a study of the impact of local oscillator reflections from the MIR calibration loads, the development of optimal gain and offset filters for radiometric calibration, and the modeling and interpretation of the MIR 325-GHz data over both clear and cloudy atmospheres. In addition, polarimetric radiometer measurements and modeling for ocean surface and atmospheric cloud-ice studies_were supported.

Gasiewski, Albin J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessment of Extinction‐, Satellite‐, and Model‐Based Vertical Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) Retrieval Methods Using Airborne CCN Measurements Over the Southern Great Plains

Abstract Accurate estimates of the vertical profile of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration are crucial to better quantify aerosol‐cloud interactions. We assessed the correlation between the vertical CCN concentrations obtained from extinction‐, satellite‐, and model‐based retrieval methods and airborne CCN concentrations collected at 0.24% supersaturation within the 3, 9, 27, and 81 km regions centered over the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during the spring and summer of 2016. The extinction profiles at a wavelength 355 nm were provided by the ground‐based Raman lidar. Our analysis showed moderate correlation between dry‐corrected extinction and airborne CCN data. We found the retrieved number concentration of CCN (RNCCN) method showed regression best‐fit slopes close to unity and consistent prediction errors for the majority of the data. The Lenhardt et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt‐16‐2037‐2023 ) method showed similar conclusions but only during spring, whereas the Mamouri and Ansmann (2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp‐16‐5905‐2016 ) method showed poor correlation. The Shinozuka et al. (2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp‐15‐7585‐2015 ) satellite‐based method exhibited reasonable agreement during summer but poor correlation during periods where both high (∼1,400 #/cm 3 ) and low (∼50 #/cm 3 ) airborne CCN concentrations were observed. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis modeled 3‐D CCN data set showed a moderate to weak positive correlation but performed poorly at high airborne CCN concentrations. Our analysis suggests the extinction‐based RNCCN method performed better than other methods across most observation periods under the diverse meteorological conditions observed at the SGP site.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Model for Particle Microphysics, Turbulent Mixing, and Radiative Transfer in the Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer and Comparisons with Measurements

A detailed 1D model of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer is described. The model has three coupled components: a microphysics module that resolves the size distributions of aerosols and cloud droplets, a turbulence module that treats vertical mixing between layers, and a multiple wavelength radiative transfer module that calculates radiative heating rates and cloud optical properties. The results of a 12-h model simulation reproduce reasonably well the bulk thermodynamics, microphysical properties, and radiative fluxes measured in an approx. 500-m thick, summertime marine stratocumulus cloud layer by Nicholls. However, in this case, the model predictions of turbulent fluxes between the cloud and subcloud layers exceed the measurements. Results of model simulations are also compared to measurements of a marine stratus layer made under gale conditions and with measurements of a high, thin marine stratocumulus layer. The variations in cloud properties are generally reproduced by the model, although it underpredicts the entrainment of overlying air at cloud top under gale conditions. Sensitivities of the model results are explored. The vertical profile of cloud droplet concentration is sensitive to the lower size cutoff of the droplet size distribution due to the presence of unactivated haze particles in the lower region of the modeled cloud. Increases in total droplet concentrations do not always produce less drizzle and more cloud water in the model. The radius of the mean droplet volume does not correlate consistently with drizzle, but the effective droplet radius does. The greatest impacts on cloud properties predicted by the model are produced by halving the width of the size distribution of input condensation nuclei and by omitting the effect of cloud-top radiative cooling on the condensational growth of cloud droplets. The omission of infrared scattering produces noticeable changes in cloud properties. The collection efficiencies for droplets less than 30-micrometers radius, and the value of the accommodation coefficient for condensational droplet growth, have noticeable effects on cloud properties. The divergence of the horizontal wind also has a significant effect on a 12-h model simulation of cloud structure. Conclusions drawn from the model are tentative because of the limitations of the 1D model framework. A principal simplification is that the model assumes horizontal homogeneity, and, therefore, does not resolve updrafts and downdrafts. Likely consequences of this simplification include overprediction of the growth of droplets by condensation in the upper region of the cloud, underprediction of droplet condensational growth in the lower region of the cloud, and underprediction of peak supersaturations.

Ackerman, Andrew S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Model for Particle Microphysics,Turbulent Mixing, and Radiative Transfer in the Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer and Comparisons with Measurements

A detailed 1D model of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer is described. The model has three coupled components: a microphysics module that resolves the size distributions of aerosols and cloud droplets, a turbulence module that treats vertical mixing between layers, and a multiple wavelength radiative transfer module that calculates radiative heating rates and cloud optical properties. The results of a 12-h model simulation reproduce reasonably well the bulk thermodynamics, microphysical properties, and radiative fluxes measured in an approx. 500-m thick, summertime marine stratocumulus cloud layer by Nicholls. However, in this case, the model predictions of turbulent fluxes between the cloud and subcloud layers exceed the measurements. Results of model simulations are also compared to measurements of a marine stratus layer made under gate conditions and with measurements of a high, thin marine stratocumulus layer. The variations in cloud properties are generally reproduced by the model, although it underpredicts the entrainment of overlying air at cloud top under gale conditions. Sensitivities of the model results are explored. The vertical profile of cloud droplet concentration is sensitive to the lower size cutoff of the droplet size distribution due to the presence of unactivated haze particles in the lower region of the modeled cloud. Increases in total droplet concentrations do not always produce less drizzle and more cloud water in the model. The radius of the mean droplet volume does not correlate consistently with drizzle, but the effective droplet radius does. The greatest impacts on cloud properties predicted by the model are produced by halving the width of the size distribution of input condensation nuclei and by omitting the effect of cloud-top radiative cooling on the condensational growth of cloud droplets. The omission of infrared scattering produces noticeable changes in cloud properties. The collection efficiencies for droplets less than 30-micron radius, and the value of the accommodation coefficient for condensational droplet growth, have noticeable effects on cloud properties. The divergence of the horizontal wind also has a significant effect on a 12-h model simulation of cloud structure. Conclusions drawn from the model are tentative because of the limitations of the 1D model framework. A principal simplification is that the model assumes horizontal homogeneity, and, therefore, does not resolve updrafts and downdrafts. Likely consequences of this simplification include overprediction of the growth of droplets by condensation in the upper region of the cloud, underprediction of droplet condensational growth in the lower region of the cloud, and under-prediction of peak supersaturations.

Ackerman, Andrew S.↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Examination of the Nature of Global MODIS Cloud Regimes

We introduce global cloud regimes (previously also referred to as "weather states") derived from cloud retrievals that use measurements by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites. The regimes are obtained by applying clustering analysis on joint histograms of retrieved cloud top pressure and cloud optical thickness. By employing a compositing approach on data sets from satellites and other sources, we examine regime structural and thermodynamical characteristics. We establish that the MODIS cloud regimes tend to form in distinct dynamical and thermodynamical environments and have diverse profiles of cloud fraction and water content. When compositing radiative fluxes from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument and surface precipitation from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, we find that regimes with a radiative warming effect on the atmosphere also produce the largest implied latent heat. Taken as a whole, the results of the study corroborate the usefulness of the cloud regime concept, reaffirm the fundamental nature of the regimes as appropriate building blocks for cloud system classification, clarify their association with standard cloud types, and underscore their distinct radiative and hydrological signatures.

radiation↗
DOE OSTI2011

Factors influencing the microphysics and radiative properties of liquid-dominated Arctic clouds: insight from observations of aerosol and clouds during ISDAC

Aircraft measurements during the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) in April 2008 are used to investigate aerosol indirect effects in Arctic clouds. Two aerosol-cloud regimes are considered in this analysis: single-layer stratocumulus cloud with below-cloud aerosol concentrations (N{sub a}) below 300 cm{sup -3} on April 8 and April 26-27 (clean cases); and inhomogeneous layered cloud with N{sub a} > 500 cm{sup -3} below cloud base on April 19-20, concurrent with a biomass burning episode (polluted cases). Vertical profiles through cloud in each regime are used to determine average cloud microphysical and optical properties. Positive correlations between the cloud droplet effective radius (Re) and cloud optical depth ({tau}) are observed for both clean and polluted cases, which are characteristic of optically-thin, non-precipitating clouds. Average Re values for each case are {approx} 6.2 {mu}m, despite significantly higher droplet number concentrations (Nd) in the polluted cases. The apparent independence of Re and Nd simplifies the description of indirect effects, such that {tau} and the cloud albedo (A) can be described by relatively simple functions of the cloud liquid water path. Adiabatic cloud parcel model simulations show that the marked differences in Na between the regimes account largely for differences in droplet activation, but that the properties of precursor aerosol also play a role, particularly for polluted cases where competition for vapour amongst the more numerous particles limits activation to larger and/or more hygroscopic particles. The similarity of Re for clean and polluted cases is attributed to compensating droplet growth processes for different initial droplet size distributions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2002

Overlap Properties of Clouds Generated by a Cloud Resolving Model

In order for General Circulation Models (GCMs), one of our most important tools to predict future climate, to correctly describe the propagation of solar and thermal radiation through the cloudy atmosphere a realistic description of the vertical distribution of cloud amount is needed. Actually, one needs not only the cloud amounts at different levels of the atmosphere, but also how these cloud amounts are related, in other words, how they overlap. Currently GCMs make some idealized assumptions about cloud overlap, for example that contiguous cloud layers overlap maximally and non-contiguous cloud layers overlap in a random fashion. Since there are difficulties in obtaining the vertical profile of cloud amount from observations, the realism of the overlap assumptions made in GCMs has not been yet rigorously investigated. Recently however, cloud observations from a relatively new type of ground radar have been used to examine the vertical distribution of cloudiness. These observations suggest that the GCM overlap assumptions are dubious. Our study uses cloud fields from sophisticated models dedicated to simulate cloud formation, maintenance, and dissipation called Cloud Resolving Models . These models are generally considered capable of producing realistic three-dimensional representation of cloudiness. Using numerous cloud fields produced by such a CRM we show that the degree of overlap between cloud layers is a function of their separation distance, and is in general described by a combination of the maximum and random overlap assumption, with random overlap dominating as separation distances increase. We show that it is possible to parameterize this behavior in a way that can eventually be incorporated in GCMs. Our results seem to have a significant resemblance to the results from the radar observations despite the completely different nature of the datasets. This consistency is encouraging and will promote development of new radiative transfer codes that will estimate the radiation effects of multi-layer cloud fields more accurately.

Oreopoulos, L.↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Physically Based Algorithm for Non-Blackbody Correction of Cloud-Top Temperature and Application to Convection Study

Cloud-top temperature (CTT) is an important parameter for convective clouds and is usually different from the 11-micrometers brightness temperature due to non-blackbody effects. This paper presents an algorithm for estimating convective CTT by using simultaneous passive [Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)] and active [CloudSat 1 Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO)] measurements of clouds to correct for the non-blackbody effect. To do this, a weighting function of the MODIS 11-micrometers band is explicitly calculated by feeding cloud hydrometer profiles from CloudSat and CALIPSO retrievals and temperature and humidity profiles based on ECMWF analyses into a radiation transfer model.Among 16 837 tropical deep convective clouds observed by CloudSat in 2008, the averaged effective emission level (EEL) of the 11-mm channel is located at optical depth; approximately 0.72, with a standard deviation of 0.3. The distance between the EEL and cloud-top height determined by CloudSat is shown to be related to a parameter called cloud-top fuzziness (CTF), defined as the vertical separation between 230 and 10 dBZ of CloudSat radar reflectivity. On the basis of these findings a relationship is then developed between the CTF and the difference between MODIS 11-micrometers brightness temperature and physical CTT, the latter being the non-blackbody correction of CTT. Correction of the non-blackbody effect of CTT is applied to analyze convective cloud-top buoyancy. With this correction, about 70% of the convective cores observed by CloudSat in the height range of 6-10 km have positive buoyancy near cloud top, meaning clouds are still growing vertically, although their final fate cannot be determined by snapshot observations.

Physical Algorithm↗