Optimal estimation retrieval of cirrus cloud parameters using combined lidar (CPL) and hyper-spectral (S-HIS) measurements

This paper will present a combined lidar (CPL) and hyper-spectral (S-HIS) cloud property retrieval using an optimal estimation approach. The methods retrieve cirrus parameters (i.e. optical depth and effective radius) from the aircraft measurements in the infrared provided by the Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS). Making use of the co-location techniques developed at the Space Science and Engineering Center of the UW-Madison, the data from the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) are used both to constrain the cloud position, and to explore the potentialities of using simultaneous active measurements and passive hyper-spectral data. The preliminary results of this study are presented using data collected during the Global Hawk HS3 flights.