File:Zonal Height Cross-Sectional Averages, AIRS, CloudSat, and CALIPSO (8385533058).jpg

English: In order to validate the performance of the AIRS zonal cloud frequency and amount, we compare the zonal cloud frequency from CloudSat and CALIPSO (two left panels). Then, we derive the frequency of cloud top height from these diagrams, which are shown on the right. Cloud top height is much more comparable to the cloud retrievals from AIRS, since it does not retrieve a true vertical profile. On the bottom panel, the sum of AIRS cloud fraction in both cloud layers is shown. Note that AIRS agrees much more closely with the cloud top climatology observed by the active instruments, although high clouds are somewhat biased low, whereas low clouds are biased a bit high. Also, the relative frequency of occurrence is similar, but the frequency of high clouds is under-detected by AIRS and for low clouds is over-detected.

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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