Study of Cloud Properties and Processes in the Polar Regions by Combining Satellite and Ground-based Remote Sensing Measurements PDF Download

Author: Loknath Adhikari
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781267820068
Category : Antarctica
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
Clouds in the polar regions play an important roles in the hydrologic cycle, the local radiative balance, and polar sea ice. However, harsh climatic conditions and perennial snow and ice cover limits the collection of cloud data from the surface as well as the effectiveness of cloud detection with satellite passive sensors. Therefore, there is a lack of reliable data on polar clouds and their properties. This study combines active and passive measurements from the NASA A-Train satellites to overcome these shortcomings and to provide a novel approach to study on polar clouds. Multi-year CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) data are used to investigate the characteristics of tropospheric clouds and precipitation systems, and their effect on the occurrence and microphysical properties of polar stratospheric clouds in the Antarctic region, south of 60 °S. The lidar and radar data are collocated to derive a combined cloud mask to improve detection of cloud vertical structure. Polar stratospheric clouds were detected using CALIPSO attenuated lidar scattering ratios (ALSR) at a horizontal resolution of 20 km to achieve good signal-to-noise ratios to allow the detection of tenuous PSCs. Clouds in the Antarctic region exhibit distinct land-sea and seasonal variabilities. The mean annual cloud occurrence is ~ 50 % over the continent and ~ 85 % over the ocean. Over the ocean the mean occurrence is higher in summer (90 %) than in winter (70 %). Low-level clouds contribute to more than 60 % of the total clouds. However, due to the extensive snow cover and cold surfaces in winter these low-level cloud occurrences are smaller in winter (50 %) than in summer (65 %). For ice clouds, both the effective radius and ice water content are larger in summer than in winter. High-level and deep tropospheric clouds strongly affect polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) occurrence and their microphysical properties by providing additional cooling of the lower stratosphere, especially during late winter and early spring. 70 % of all PSCs and 80 % of ice PSCs are formed in connection with tropospheric cloud systems during September and October. Similarly, PSCs associated with tropospheric cloud systems have higher particle number concentration than PSCs not associated with tropospheric cloud systems. A novel stratiform mixed-phase cloud retrieval algorithm has been developed by combining CloudSat, CALIPSO and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements to address the large positive biases of the MODIS operational algorithm, which assumes a single liquid- or ice-phase in its retrieval for mixed-phase clouds. The algorithm is validated using collocated MODIS and ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) North Slope Alaska (NSA) site. Results indicate that the new mixed-phase algorithm reduces the positive LWP biases of the operational MODIS algorithm from 35 % and 68 % to 10 % and 22 % over the temperature ranges of -5 to -10 °C and -10 to -20 °C, respectively.