Initial Trends in Cloud Amount from the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended Data-set

Recent studies have indicated that satellite derived cloud climatologies show different trends over the past 20 years. We will explore the trends in a subset of the data from a new Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) reprocessing effort performed at NOAA/NESDIS. This reprocessing effort includes a new generation of the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended Data-set which spans 1981 to 2004 and includes data from the afternoon and morning satellites. We propose to examine the trends in different cloud amounts and test their physical consistency with the trends of other parameters. In addition, we will compare our results to those of other satellite derived climatologies.