CERES cloud property retrievals from imagers on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua

Patrick Minnis; David F. Young; Sunny Sun-Mack; Patrick W. Heck; David R. Doelling; Qing Z. Trepte

doi:10.1117/12.511210

16 February 2004 CERES cloud property retrievals from imagers on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua

Patrick Minnis, David F. Young, Sunny Sun-Mack, Patrick W. Heck, David R. Doelling, Qing Z. Trepte

Proceedings Volume 5235, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511210
Event: Remote Sensing, 2003, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The micro- and macrophysical properties of clouds play a crucial role in Earth’s radiation budget. The NASA Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) is providing simultaneous measurements of the radiation and cloud fields on a global basis to improve the understanding and modeling of the interaction between clouds and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere. Cloud properties derived for CERES from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites are compared to ensure consistency between the products to ensure the reliability of the retrievals from multiple platforms at different times of day. Comparisons of cloud fraction, height, optical depth, phase, effective particle size, and ice and liquid water paths from the two satellites show excellent consistency. Initial calibration comparisons are also very favorable. Differences between the Aqua and Terra results are generally due to diurnally dependent changes in the clouds. Additional algorithm refinement is needed over the polar regions for Aqua and at night over those same areas for Terra. The results should be extremely valuable for model validation and improvement and for improving our understanding of the relationship between clouds and the radiation budget.

Citation Download Citation

Patrick Minnis, David F. Young, Sunny Sun-Mack, Patrick W. Heck, David R. Doelling, and Qing Z. Trepte "CERES cloud property retrievals from imagers on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua", Proc. SPIE 5235, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII, (16 February 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511210

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