Search results for "Cloud fraction"

A Cloud masking algorithm for the XBAER aerosol retrieval using MERIS data

2017

Abstract To determine aerosol optical thickness, AOT, and other geophysical parameters describing conditions in the atmosphere and at the earth's surface by inversion of remote sensing measurements from space based instrumentation, it is necessary to separate ground scenes into cloud free and cloudy or cloud contaminated. Identifying the presence of cloud in a ground scene and establishing an accurate and adequate cloud mask is a challenging task. In this study, measurements by the European Space Agency (ESA) MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) have been used to develop a cloud identification and cloud mask algorithm for preprocessing prior to application of the new algorithm cal…

2021

Abstract. The formation of ice in clouds is an important processes in mixed-phase and ice-phase clouds. Yet, the representation of ice formation in numerical models is highly uncertain. In the last decade, several new parameterizations for heterogeneous freezing have been proposed. However, it is currently unclear what the effect of choosing one parameterization over another is in the context of numerical weather prediction. We conducted high-resolution simulations (Δx=250 m) of moderately deep convective clouds (cloud top ∼-18 ∘C) over the southwestern United Kingdom using several formulations of ice formation and compared the resulting changes in cloud field properties to the spread of an…

Comparison of ERA40 cloud top phase with POLDER-1 observations

2008

[1] A detailed grid-point-based comparison of the cloud top phase derived from the 40-year reanalyses (ERA40) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with satellite measurements is presented. For this purpose an algorithm is implemented to extract a two-dimensional “satellite-like” field of the cloud top phase from ERA40 data. This field is compared with cloud top phase data from the Polarization and Directionality of the Earth Reflectances (POLDER-1) instrument which was in orbit from November 1996 to June 1997. The thermodynamic cloud phase in ERA40 data is parameterized as a function of temperature with pure liquid clouds above 0°C, pure ice clouds below −23°C a…

A statistical subgrid-scale algorithm for precipitation formation in stratiform clouds in the ECHAM5 single column model

2011

Abstract. Cloud properties are usually assumed to be homogeneous within the cloudy part of the grid-box, i.e. subgrid-scale inhomogeneities in cloud cover and/or microphysical properties are often neglected. However, precipitation formation is initiated by large particles. Thus mean values are not representative and could lead to a delayed onset of precipitation. For a more physical description of the subgrid-scale structure of clouds we introduce a new statistical sub-column algorithm to study the impact of cloud inhomogeneities on stratiform precipitation. Each model column is divided into N independent sub-columns with sub-boxes in each layer, which are completely clear or cloudy. The cl…