3.6
Global ice cloud microphysical property retrieval by combining CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar measurements
Zhien Wang, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY; and M. Vaughan and S. A. Young
The impact of ice clouds on the Earth's energy budget depends strongly on cloud microphysical properties and their vertical distributions. CloudSat and CALIPSO satellite measurements provide the first chance to study the vertical distributions of ice cloud microphysical properties globally by combining lidar and radar measurements. Because of the different detection sensitivities and attenuations of CloudSat radar (CPR) and CALIPSO lidar (CALIOP) signals, we have to deal with the following three scenarios to provide a complete vertical profile of ice cloud properties: CALIOP-only, CPR and CALIOP overlapped and CPR-only regions. For the overlapped region, ice water content and particle effective radius profiles will be retrieved by combining the cloud extinction coefficient, derived using the CALIPSO cloud retrieval algorithm, and the CPR radar reflectivity factor. The retrieval results in the overlapped region will be used as supplementary information to improve the CALIOP-only and CPR-only region retrievals. The detailed approach will be illustrated with CloudSat and CALIPSO data.
Session 3, space borne lidars
Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 8:30 AM-11:45 AM, 207B
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