File:CloudSat-AIRS cloud top height differences as a function of AIRS cloud fraction and CloudSat cloud type (8384457623).jpg

English: CloudSat-AIRS cloud top height differences as a function of AIRS cloud fraction are shown. Since the ability of AIRS to characterize cloud amount and height is cloud-type dependent, differences in the agreement between AIRS and CloudSat vary depending on the cloud type. (a) For all cloud types. (b) portion of PDF in (a) where the cloud classification indicates Altocumulus (Ac) clouds at the CloudSat cloud top; there is no partitioning of CloudSat profiles that may contain one or more vertically-stacked cloud types. (c) Altostratus (As). (d) Cumulonimbus (Cb). (e) Cirrus (Ci). (f) Cumulus (Cu). (g) Nimbostratus (Ns). (h) Stratocumulus (Sc). The relative frequencies of each cloud type are given by the magnitudes of each PDF.

Citation Citation: Kahn, B. H., Chahine, M. T., Stephens, G. L., Mace, G. G., Marchand, R. T., Wang, Z., Barnet, C. D., Eldering, A., Holz, R. E., Kuehn, R. E., and Vane, D. G.: Cloud type comparisons of AIRS, CloudSat, and CALIPSO cloud height and amount, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1231-1248, 2008.

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About AIRS The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, AMSU, sense emitted infrared and microwave radiation from the Earth to provide a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather and climate. Working in tandem, the two instruments make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-dimensional map of atmospheric temperature and humidity, cloud amounts and heights, greenhouse gas concentrations, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS and AMSU fly onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and are managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Credit NASA/JPL AIRS Project

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