HR: 17:40h
AN: A14A-09    [Abstracts]
TI: Comparisons of CloudSat cloud features and TRMM precipitation features
AU: * Liu, C
EM: liu.c.t@utah.edu
AF: University of Utah, 135 S 1460 E, Room 809, salt lake city, ut 84112, United States
AU: Zipser, E
EM: ed.zipser@utah.edu
AF: University of Utah, 135 S 1460 E, Room 809, salt lake city, ut 84112, United States
AU: Mace, G
EM: jay.mace@utah.edu
AF: University of Utah, 135 S 1460 E, Room 809, salt lake city, ut 84112, United States
AU: benson, s
EM: sally.benson@utah.edu
AF: University of Utah, 135 S 1460 E, Room 809, salt lake city, ut 84112, United States
AB: The Cloud Features (CFs) are defined by vertically grouping the pixels with cloud mask and cloud radar reflectivity greater than -28 dBZ from CloudSat GeoProf-2B products. The horizontal size, maximum reflectivity profile and other properties for each CF are summarized. For comparison, precipitation features (PFs) are defined by vertically grouping the nadir only pixels with TRMM precipitation radar reflectivity greater than 20 dBZ using 9 years of TRMM observations. Since CloudSat has sun synchronizing orbit and only observes at two local times, the global distribution of cloud occurrence from CFs and precipitation occurrence from PFs over tropics are compared at different altitudes near 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM local times. The regional difference of ratios from PF precipitation area to areas with cloud radar reflectivity greater than -10 dBZ, 0dBZ, 10dBZ and with cloud mask from CFs are demonstrated. To help evaluating the representativeness of the cloud climatology from CloudSat as a whole instead of at the two local times, the statistics of 20 dBZ area and area of TRMM VIRs 11 micron brightness temperature < 235 K from subset of PFs near 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM local time are shown along with those from all PFs. The regional differences between the two are shown.
DE: 0320 Cloud physics and chemistry
DE: 1853 Precipitation-radar
DE: 1855 Remote sensing (1640)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting