Improvements in the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) Ice Cloud Property and Cloud Thermodynamic Phase Retrievals

We will describe Version 6 Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) cloud optical thickness (COT), effective radius (CER), and cloud thermodynamic phase retrievals. The COT and CER retrievals are based on an optimal estimation retrieval methodology using operational AIRS Level 2 products as input to the algorithm. The cloud thermodynamic phase algorithm is based on six different spectral radiance tests that determine the presence of ice, liquid, or clouds with no identifiable phase. Since the release of Version 6, we have made improvements in the yield of CER, made more precise estimates of error characterization, and explored the use of Level 1C radiances that correct for noisy and/or missing channels, and spatial co-registration mismatches for channels at the edges of a few detector modules. We quantify these and other proposed changes and modifications to AIRS cloud retrievals. Lastly, we will summarize some of the science applications that have leveraged this unique data set.