Joint distributions of ice clouds and relative humidity: What can we learn from A-train measurements?
Abstract
Using recent advances in cloud optical and microphysical properties from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), along with vertical cloud profiles of ice water content (IWC) and cloud-type from CloudSat and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), and temperature and specific humidity retrievals from AIRS/AMSU, we investigate joint distributions of clouds, relative humidity (RH), and cloudy/clear sky RH anomalies on the regional and global scales. The distributions are partitioned by cloud-type, latitude, formation/maintenance mechanism, and other geophysical variables. Composite cases are formed from thousands of observations to investigate the differences and similarities between the joint distributions among the partitioned categories. Regional and global scale variability is explored using continuous data along the CloudSat/CALIPSO ground track, and the results are compared to previous modeling, surface-based, in situ, and satellite studies.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AGUFM.A14A..08K
- Keywords:
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- 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction;
- 0360 Radiation: transmission and scattering;
- 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- 3360 Remote sensing