Retrieval of cloud geometrical properties using ADEOS-II/GLI

It is of great interest to investigate the radiative properties on the cloud optical, microphysical, and geometrical properties of clouds that play crucial role in the climate system. Here, top height, base height, and geometrical thickness of cloud layer are considered as cloud geometrical properties. Several studies show that information of some spectral regions including oxygen A-band, enables us to retrieve the cloud geometrical properties as well as the optical thickness, the effective particle radius of cloud. In this study, an algorithm was developed to retrieve simultaneously the cloud optical thickness, effective particle radius, top height, and geometrical thickness of cloud layer with the spectral information of visible, near infrared, thermal infrared, and oxygen A-band channels. This algorithm was applied to ADEOS-II / GLI dataset so as to retrieve global distribution of cloud geometrical properties. The retrieved results around Japan were compared with other observation, which suggested this algorithm would work for cloud system over ocean at least. This study will expand to global analyses and be anticipated to contribute to radiation budget studies in terms of cloud optical, microphysical, and geometrical properties.