Abstract
Abstract. Clouds are highly variable in time and space, affecting climate sensitivity and climate change. To study and distinguish the different influences of clouds on the climate system, it is useful to separate clouds into individual cloud regimes. In this work we present a new cloud classification for liquid water clouds at cloud scale defined using cloud parameters retrieved from combined satellite measurements from CloudSat and CALIPSO. The idea is that cloud heterogeneity is a measure that allows us to distinguish cumuliform and stratiform clouds, and cloud-base height is a measure to distinguish cloud altitude. The approach makes use of a newly developed cloud-base height retrieval. Using three cloud-base height intervals and two intervals of cloud-top variability as an inhomogeneity parameter provides six new liquid cloud classes. The results show a smooth transition between marine and continental clouds as well as between stratiform and cumuliform clouds in different latitudes at the high spatial resolution of about 20 km. Analysing the micro- and macrophysical cloud parameters from collocated combined MODIS, CloudSat and CALIPSO retrievals shows distinct characteristics for each cloud regime that are in agreement with expectation and literature. This demonstrates the usefulness of the classification.
Highlights
Clouds affect the climate system in a wide variety of ways
In this work we present a new cloud classification for liquid water clouds at cloud scale defined using cloud parameters retrieved from combined satellite measurements from CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO)
Low clouds and optically thick clouds contribute to cooling the climate system because their high-albedo effect dominates their effect on emitted longwave radiation back to space (Hartmann et al, 1992), whereas thin medium- and high-altitude clouds contribute to warming the climate system (Dhuria and Kyle, 1990)
Summary
Clouds affect the climate system in a wide variety of ways They influence outgoing solar and terrestrial radiation and the Earth’s temperature, produce precipitation, transport heat and moisture, and interact with the surrounding atmosphere including aerosols on different time and spatial scales. Extending and simplifying this approach for climate model evaluation, Williams and Webb (2008) selected different cloud regimes in particular geographical regions using cloud albedo, ptop, and total cloud cover, ftot Such a regime definition was found useful in the context of the analysis of aerosol optical depth–cloud droplet concentration using satellite data in the study of Gryspeerdt and Stier (2012). The collocated satellite data and the high spatial resolution defined as the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) footprint size of about 20 km allow a cloud-class-based analysis of cloud parameter reflecting the high spatial and temporal variability
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
