Trade Wind Cumuli Statistics and the Impact of finite Resolution Measurements

We present a comprehensive statistical overview of cumulus cloud macrophysical properties over the Tropical Western Atlantic based on the measurement taken by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) between September and December, 2004. The size distribution, spatial distribution and shapes of cumulus cloud are examined with ASTER near-infrared data at 15m resolution. The height distribution of these cumulus clouds is derived from ASTER thermal infrared data at 90m resolution. To date, this is the most comprehensive study of the cumulus cloud at such a high spatial resolution and over such a long period. The results from our ASTER analyses show important deviations from previous work on the statistics of cumuli. All statistics are also stratified by different metrological conditions in order to increase their utility in cloud resolving and climate models.