A Simple 1DVAR Approach Toward Cloudy Infared Radiance Assimilation

A simple two parameters cloud emissivity model is proposed in the context of infrared radiance assimilation. The application of that model to real AIRS hyperspectral data to retrieve effective cloud height and emissivity is illustrated. 1D variational experiments using about 125 channels are presented and show encouraging results. Results from 3D variational experiments should be available at the time of the conference to illustrate the impact of cloudy radiance assimilation in analyses and forecasts.