Investigation of the oceanic cloudiness according to the data of satellite observations in the spectral range 10.3–11.3 μm

Abstract

The temperature of waters in the upper layer of the ocean and effective cloudiness (cloudiness with simultaneous indication of its amount and optical density) are important characteristics of the natural environments. They determine the greenhouse effects and the energy of the ocean and atmosphere, and regulate climate. The satellite data on these characteristics enable one to reconstruct all components of the radiation, heat, and water budgets in the ocean–atmosphere system and study their intra- and interannual variations. We describe the procedures of evaluation of the effective cloudiness according to the sea-surface temperature and the radiation temperature in the spectral range 10.3–11.3 μm. The development of these investigations is connected with the advances in satellite hydrophysics: the satellite data become more and more accurate, regular, and global.