Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic
Previous studies revealed that satellites sensors with the best detection capability identify 25 %–40 % and 0 %–25 % fewer clouds below 0.5 and between 0.5–1.0 km, respectively, over the Arctic. Quantifying the impacts of cloud detection limitations on the radiation flux are critical especially over...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:eb788f82b933468982e0679b19b1773a 2023-05-15T14:50:13+02:00 Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic Y. Liu 2022-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 https://doaj.org/article/eb788f82b933468982e0679b19b1773a EN eng Copernicus Publications https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/8151/2022/acp-22-8151-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/eb788f82b933468982e0679b19b1773a Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 22, Pp 8151-8173 (2022) Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 2022-12-31T03:11:00Z Previous studies revealed that satellites sensors with the best detection capability identify 25 %–40 % and 0 %–25 % fewer clouds below 0.5 and between 0.5–1.0 km, respectively, over the Arctic. Quantifying the impacts of cloud detection limitations on the radiation flux are critical especially over the Arctic Ocean considering the dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice. In this study, the proxies of the space-based radar, CloudSat, and lidar, CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), cloud masks are derived based on simulated radar reflectivity with QuickBeam and cloud optical thickness using retrieved cloud properties from surface-based radar and lidar during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) experiment. Limitations in low-level cloud detection by the space-based active sensors, and the impact of these limitations on the radiation fluxes at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA), are estimated with radiative transfer model Streamer. The results show that the combined CloudSat and CALIPSO product generally detects all clouds above 1 km, while detecting 25 % (9 %) fewer in absolute values below 600 m (600 m to 1 km) than surface observations. These detection limitations lead to uncertainties in the monthly mean cloud radiative forcing (CRF), with maximum absolute monthly mean values of 2.5 and 3.4 Wm −2 at the surface and TOA, respectively. Cloud information from only CALIPSO or CloudSat lead to larger cloud detection differences compared to the surface observations and larger CRF uncertainties with absolute monthly means larger than 10.0 Wm −2 at the surface and TOA. The uncertainties for individual cases are larger – up to 30 Wm −2 . These uncertainties need to be considered when radiation flux products from CloudSat and CALIPSO are used in climate and weather studies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 22 12 8151 8173 |
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English |
topic |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
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Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 Y. Liu Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
topic_facet |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
description |
Previous studies revealed that satellites sensors with the best detection capability identify 25 %–40 % and 0 %–25 % fewer clouds below 0.5 and between 0.5–1.0 km, respectively, over the Arctic. Quantifying the impacts of cloud detection limitations on the radiation flux are critical especially over the Arctic Ocean considering the dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice. In this study, the proxies of the space-based radar, CloudSat, and lidar, CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), cloud masks are derived based on simulated radar reflectivity with QuickBeam and cloud optical thickness using retrieved cloud properties from surface-based radar and lidar during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) experiment. Limitations in low-level cloud detection by the space-based active sensors, and the impact of these limitations on the radiation fluxes at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA), are estimated with radiative transfer model Streamer. The results show that the combined CloudSat and CALIPSO product generally detects all clouds above 1 km, while detecting 25 % (9 %) fewer in absolute values below 600 m (600 m to 1 km) than surface observations. These detection limitations lead to uncertainties in the monthly mean cloud radiative forcing (CRF), with maximum absolute monthly mean values of 2.5 and 3.4 Wm −2 at the surface and TOA, respectively. Cloud information from only CALIPSO or CloudSat lead to larger cloud detection differences compared to the surface observations and larger CRF uncertainties with absolute monthly means larger than 10.0 Wm −2 at the surface and TOA. The uncertainties for individual cases are larger – up to 30 Wm −2 . These uncertainties need to be considered when radiation flux products from CloudSat and CALIPSO are used in climate and weather studies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Y. Liu |
author_facet |
Y. Liu |
author_sort |
Y. Liu |
title |
Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
title_short |
Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
title_full |
Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic |
title_sort |
impacts of active satellite sensors' low-level cloud detection limitations on cloud radiative forcing in the arctic |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 https://doaj.org/article/eb788f82b933468982e0679b19b1773a |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean |
op_source |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 22, Pp 8151-8173 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/8151/2022/acp-22-8151-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/eb788f82b933468982e0679b19b1773a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8151-2022 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
22 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
8151 |
op_container_end_page |
8173 |
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