HIRDLS and CALIPSO observations of tropical cirrus

High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) measurements of cirrus frequency of occurrence in the upper tropical troposphere are quantified for September 2006 to August 2007. Monthly geospatial averages of cloud frequency of occurrence between 90 and 177 hPa are similar and correlate well with Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) relative humidity with respect to ice (RHI) data, though clouds are present at individual RHI values less than 100%, due to the 5, 1, and sub-1 km vertical resolutions of the MLS, HIRDLS, and CALIPSO experiments. Seasonal variations in cloud frequency of occurrence are similar, with largest frequencies during winter (December–February). Though the CALIPSO and HIRDLS experiments employ nadir- and limb-viewing observational geometries, respectively, CALIPSO horizontal scales of cirrus are frequently larger than 100 km, and therefore similarities are present in the geospatial distributions of cloud occurrence. Isolated laminar cirrus is most prevalent away from the equator. The monthly patterns of HIRDLS and CALIPSO cloud occurrence are archived for useful comparisons to climate models.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • opensky@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Library

Resource Type publication
Temporal Range Begin N/A
Temporal Range End N/A
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format PDF
Standardized Resource Format PDF
Asset Size N/A
Legal Constraints

An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2010 American Geophysical Union.
Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email opensky@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library
Distributor N/A
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email opensky@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library

Author Massie, Steven T.
Gille, John
Craig, Cheryl A.
Khosravi, Rashid
Barnett, J.
Read, W.
Winker, D.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2010-01-30T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2025-07-17T15:27:41.281367
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:17066
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Massie, Steven T., Gille, John, Craig, Cheryl A., Khosravi, Rashid, Barnett, J., Read, W., Winker, D.. (2010). HIRDLS and CALIPSO observations of tropical cirrus. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7db833x. Accessed 21 August 2025.

Harvest Source