HR: 09:10h
AN: A21F-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Remote Sensing of the Radiative and Microphysical Properties of Clouds during TC4: Results from MAS, MASTER, MODIS, and MISR
AU: * King, M D
EM: michael.d.king@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 610, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Platnick, S
EM: steven.platnick@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 610, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Wind, G
EM: wind@climate.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: SSAI, Inc., 10210 Greenbelt Road, Lanham, MD 20706, United States
AU: Arnold, G T
EM: arnold@climate.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: SSAI, Inc., 10210 Greenbelt Road, Lanham, MD 20706, United States
AU: Ackerman, S A
EM: stevea@ssec.wisc.edu
AF: CIMSS/University of Wisconsin, 1225 W. Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
AU: Frey, R
EM: richard.frey@ssec.wisc.edu
AF: CIMSS/University of Wisconsin, 1225 W. Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
AB: The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) and MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) were used to obtain measurements of the bidirectional reflectance and brightness temperature of clouds at 50 discrete wavelengths between 0.47 and 14.3 µm (12.9 µm for MASTER). These observations were obtained from the NASA ER-2 aircraft as part of the Tropical Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4) conducted over Central America and surrounding Pacific and Atlantic Oceans between July 17 and August 8, 2007. Multispectral images in eight distinct bands were used to derive a confidence in clear sky (or alternatively the probability of cloud) over land and ocean ecosystems. Based on the results of individual tests run as part of this cloud mask, an algorithm was developed to estimate the phase of the clouds (liquid water, ice, or undetermined phase). Finally, the cloud optical thickness and effective radius were derived for both liquid water and ice clouds that were detected during each flight, using a nearly identical algorithm as that implemented operationally to process MODIS cloud data from the Aqua and Terra satellites (Collection 5). This analysis shows that the cloud mask developed for operational use on MODIS, and tested using MAS and MASTER data in TC4, is quite capable of dis-tinguishing both liquid water and ice clouds during daytime conditions over both land and ocean. The cloud optical thickness and effective radius retrievals used three distinct bands of the MAS (or MASTER), and these results were com-pared with nearly simultaneous retrievals of MODIS on the Terra spacecraft. Fi-nally, this MODIS-based algorithm was adapted to MISR data to infer the cloud optical thickness of liquid water clouds from MISR. Results of this analysis will be presented and discussed.
DE: 0320 Cloud physics and chemistry
DE: 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction
DE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry
DE: 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting