Retrieval method of cirrus microphysical parameters at terahertz wave based on multiple lookup tables

Abstract

Cirrus is an important regulator for the flow of radiant energy in the earth-atmosphere system through the processes of scattering and absorption of radiation. In order to satisfy the urgent requirement for accurate retrieval of cirrus microphysical properties, terahertz wave is expected to be the best waveband for inverting cirrus particle size and ice water path, with terahertz wavelengths on the order of the size of typical cirrus particles. There is an urgent need for establishing stable and accurate inversion method. A new retrieval method for particle size and ice water path is developed based on multiple lookup tables for spaceborne measurements of brightness temperature spectrum of 183 GHz, 325 GHz, 462 GHz, 664 GHz, and 874 GHz channels. Five parameters are derived to quantify the effects of particle size and ice water path on terahertz radiation spectrum due to the scattering of ice clouds, manifested by brightness temperature difference, brightness temperature difference slope, etc. To retrieve cirrus microphysical parameters, a weighted least square fit that matches the modeled parameters is used. The analysis of retrieval errors are conducted by a simulated data series and the results are compared with those retrieved by the other two methods, i. e., difference method and slope method. The results retrieved by the multiple lookup table method are much closer to the simulated data series than those from the other two methods. It is indicated that the method introduced here is a stable and valid method of inverting particles between 50 and 500 m and ice water path between 10 and 500 g/m2. Compared with the errors from the difference-featured method and slope-featured method, the retrieval errors are reduced by 68.78% and 60.28% for particle size, 78.17% and 49.01% for ice water path. The analyses of retrieval uncertainties show that, in general, uncertainties of particle size and ice water path vary with particle size and ice water path. The ice water path uncertainties mainly spread in a range of 0-15 g/m2. The particle size uncertainties fluctuate within a range of 0-20 m. In other words, for small particle size range, the uncertainties are 0-5 m for thick clouds and 5-20 m for thin clouds. However, for large particle size range, the uncertainties are 0-5 m for particles larger than 300 m and 5-15 m for those smaller than 300 m. The results will be helpful for further developing the terahertz wave remote sensing of cirrus microphysical parameter technology. Moreover, it is also an important reference to the improvement of cirrus retrieval accuracy.