A Comparison of Cirrus Clouds Retrieved From POLDER-3/PARASOL and MODIS/Aqua

MODIS on board Aqua and POLDER-3 on board PARASOL are two key instruments in the A-Train constellation of satellites. MODIS has 36 spectral bands with wavelength ranging from 0.41 to 14.5 μm, but makes measurement at only one direction without information about polarization. POLDER performs multidirectional measurements, of both reflectance and polarization, at nine spectral channels (from 443 to 1020 nm). The two instruments offer different, and somehow complementary, advantages for the remote sensing of microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds. In this study, a comparison of cirrus clouds retrieved from the two instruments is made to obtain understanding of the possibility, advantages and limitations of synergetic retrieval. First, the comparison is made between the single scattering properties of "Inhomogeneous Hexagonal Monocrystals" (IHM) used in POLDER retrieval algorithm and the ice-crystal ensemble model used for MODIS. Substantial differences are found in the scattering phase matrix. Co-located cloud mask and cloud top height retrievals are compared, with the emphasis on high and thin cirrus clouds. The optical thicknesses of cirrus clouds retrieved by POLDER are compared with those by MODIS, with and without the constraint that the cloud effective particle size retrieved by MODIS must be similar to that of IHM.