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Cloud Inhomogeneity from MODIS

Oreopoulos, L.(a) and Cahalan, R.F.(b), University of Maryland Baltimore County (a), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (b)
Fourteenth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting

The study presented in this poster analyzes two full months (January and July 2003) of MODIS Atmosphere Level-3 data from the Terra and Aqua satellites in order to characterize the horizontal inhomogeneity of cloud optical properties at global scales. We first examine the appropriatness and limitations of the MODIS data set for calculating previously introduced measures of cloud horizontal heterogeneity such as Barker’s “nu” and Cahalan’s “chi” and discuss the two main methods that can be used to derive them. Then we lay the foundation for a climatology of cloud inhomogeneity based on 1 km retrievals by determining values of inhomogeneity parameters at spatial scales of 1x1 degree and at daily and monthly time scales. Specifically, we study geographical, seasonal, day to day, and diurnal change of cloud inhomogeneity parameters as well as differences between continental and marine clouds, and between liquid and ice clouds. The study reveals the great richness that characterizes cloud horizontal heterogeneity and underlines its importance for calculating accurately radiative fluxes at GCM-gridbox scales.

Note: This is the poster abstract presented at the meeting; an extended version was not provided by the author(s).