HR: 1340h
AN: A23A-0935    [Abstracts]
TI: Analysis of Tropical Ice Cloud Spatial and Temporal Patterns
AU: * Meyer, K
EM: kmeyer@ariel.met.tamu.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, 3150 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3150 United States
AU: Yang, P
EM: pyang@ariel.met.tamu.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, 3150 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3150 United States
AU: North, G
EM: g-north@tamu.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, 3150 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3150 United States
AU: Gao, B
EM: bo-cai.gao@nrl.navy.mil
AF: Remote Sensing Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7230, Washington, DC 20375 United States
AB: The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA's Terra and Aqua platforms offer valuable observations of the earth and its atmosphere, facilitating significant research in the atmospheric sciences. Specifically, the implementation of the 1.375-μm water vapor absorption band allows for exclusive investigations of ice clouds (e.g., cirrus clouds). In this study, we perform an analysis of the spatial and temporal trends of tropical ice clouds using three years of Aqua MODIS observations. Ice cloud optical depth is inferred from visible cirrus reflectance using a look-up table approach. Ice water path is calculated using the inferred ice cloud optical depth and particle effective size. Both the visible cirrus reflectance and ice particle effective size data are included in the MODIS level-3 daily global atmospheric parameters. General ice cloud patterns are then established, and total and seasonal means and variances are calculated. A deeper statistical analysis is then performed to determine the daily fluctuations of tropical ice cloud coverage.
DE: 0300 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
DE: 0319 Cloud optics
DE: 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005