DEVELOPMENT OF A DAYTIME CLOUD AND AEROSOL LOADINGS DETECTION ALGORITHM FOR HIMAWARI-8 SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS OVER DESERT

Supercooled liquid fraction (SLF) in mixed-phase clouds is retrieved for the first time using passive geostationary satellite observations based on differences in liquid droplet and ice particle radiative properties. The retrieved results are well comparable to global distributions observed by active instruments, and the feasibility of the retrieval method to analyze the observed trends of SLF has been validated.

We find that cloud profiles can be divided into four prominent patterns, and the frequency of these four patterns is related to intensities of cloud-top entrainment and precipitation. Based on these analyses, we further propose a cloud profile parameterization scheme allowing us to represent these patterns. Our results shed light on how to facilitate the representation of cloud profiles and how to link them to cloud entrainment or precipitating status in future remote-sensing applications.

Influenced by the representativeness of ice crystal scattering models, the existing terahertz ice cloud remote sensing inversion algorithms still have significant uncertainties. We developed an ice cloud remote sensing retrieval algorithm of the ice water path and particle size from aircraft-based terahertz radiation measurements based on the Voronoi model. Validation revealed that the Voronoi model performs better than the sphere and hexagonal column models.

To build on the previous investigations of the Voronoi model in the remote sensing retrievals of ice cloud products, this paper developed an ice cloud parameterization scheme based on the single-scattering properties of the Voronoi model and evaluate it through simulations with the Community Integrated Earth System Model (CIESM). Compared with four representative ice cloud schemes, results show that the Voronoi model has good capabilities of ice cloud modeling in the climate model.

Cloud properties observed by the Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI) onboard the Global Change Observation Mission – Climate (GCOM-C) satellite are evaluated using surface observation data. The study finds that SGLI-observed cloud properties are qualitative enough, although water cloud properties are suggested to be more qualitative, and both water and ice cloud properties can reproduce surface irradiance quite satisfactorily. Thus, SGLI cloud products are very useful for different studies.