Comparison of GOES-retrieved and in situ measurements of deep convective anvil cloud microphysical properties during the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC⁴)

One of the main goals of the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC⁴) during July and August 2007 was to gain a better understanding of the formation and life cycle of cirrus clouds in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and how their presence affects the exchange of water vapor between these layers. Additionally, it is important to compare in situ measurements taken by aircraft instruments with products derived from satellite observations and find a meaningful way to interpret the results. In this study, cloud properties derived using radiance measurements from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagers are compared to similar quantities from aircraft in situ observations and are examined for meaningful relationships. A new method using dual-angle satellite measurements is used to derive the ice water content (IWC) for the top portion of deep convective clouds and anvils. The results show the in situ and remotely sensed mean microphysical properties agree to within ~10 µm in the top few kilometers of thick anvils despite the vastly different temporal and spatial resolutions of the aircraft and satellite instruments. Mean particle size and IWC are shown to increase with decreasing altitude in the top few kilometers of the cloud. Given these relationships, it may be possible to derive parameterizations for effective particle size and IWC as a function of altitude from satellite observations.

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An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2010 American Geophysical Union.


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Author Yost, Christopher
Minnis, Patrick
Ayers, J. Kirk
Spangenberg, Douglas
Heymsfield, Andrew
Bansemer, Aaron
McGill, Matthew
Hlavka, Dennis
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2010-07-21T00:00:00
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:47:25.946575
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:10323
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Yost, Christopher, Minnis, Patrick, Ayers, J. Kirk, Spangenberg, Douglas, Heymsfield, Andrew, Bansemer, Aaron, McGill, Matthew, Hlavka, Dennis. (2010). Comparison of GOES-retrieved and in situ measurements of deep convective anvil cloud microphysical properties during the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC⁴). UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7d50nf8. Accessed 11 February 2025.

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