Initial study of the variability of AIRS radiances with cloud type

Infrared radiance spectra provide valuable information regarding the macrophysical and microphysical properties of clouds.  Numerous studies have shown that a combination of assumptions of cloud height, optical thickness, particle size, and particle shape can typically be found to produce radiative transfer calculations that match observed radiance spectra.  What is not well known, though, is the natural variability of cloudy-sky infrared spectra.  In this poster, we will show initial results describing the statistics of infrared radiance spectra with respect to cloud type.  The analyses will be made using a NASA-supported MEaSUREs dataset of co-located AIRS atmospheric profile retrievals, AIRS radiances, and CloudSat cloud scenario.  The combination of AIRS and CloudSat provides complimentary spectral, spatial, and vertical cloud profile information.  A better understanding of how cloud properties affect natural variability of cloudy-sky infrared spectra will lead to more realistic cloud property retrieval assumptions and models.