Determining cloud thermodynamic phase from the polarized Micro Pulse Lidar
<p>A method to distinguish cloud thermodynamic phase from polarized Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements is described. The method employs a simple enumerative approach to classify cloud layers as either liquid water, ice water, or mixed-phase clouds based on the linear volume depolarization ra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/13/6901/2020/amt-13-6901-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>A method to distinguish cloud thermodynamic phase from
polarized Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements is described. The method
employs a simple enumerative approach to classify cloud layers as either
liquid water, ice water, or mixed-phase clouds based on the linear volume
depolarization ratio and cloud top temperatures derived from Goddard Earth
Observing System, version 5 (GEOS-5), assimilated data. Two years of cloud retrievals from the Micro Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) site in Greenbelt, MD,
are used to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The fraction of
supercooled liquid water in the mixed-phase temperature regime (<span class="inline-formula">−37</span>–0 <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C) calculated using MPLNET data is compared
to similar calculations made using the spaceborne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with
Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument onboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite, with
reasonable consistency.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |