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Comparison of Cloud-Radiative Properties from Regional Very-High-Resolution Modeling and Satellite Retrievals

Wang, D.-H. (a,b) and Minnis, P.(b), Hampton University (a), NASA Langley Research Center (b)
Fourteenth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting

Data from a regional very-high-resolution modeling/assimilation and the GOES satellite-derived cloud-radiative properties including cloud fraction, temperature, height, thickness, phase, optical depth, effective particle size and ice or liquid water path; and TOA fluxes and albedos, are used in this study. The preliminary results of the intercomparison show that the cloud fields from model and satellite-derived compare well. The frequencies are computed for the individual cloud system. Comparisons of frequency distributions yield surprisingly good results, and obviously the assimilation-generated properties much more close to those of the satellite retrievals. Some differences are significant in some parameters. For example, cloud tops are higher and cloud top temperature is lower, and much narrow-distributed than those from the satellite observations. The cloud total water paths have more large values, and the outgoing LW fluxes (e.g., OLR) are lower because of too higher cloud tops from the modeling/assimilation. The results of this study should be valuable for improving cloud and radiative physics processes used in weather/climate models.

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