Cloud Properties from Satellite Infrared and Visible Measurements
Abstract
Exposed materials on high speed vehicles such as supersonic aircraft and rockets can be substantially eroded by the water or ice particles of clouds. Engineering tests of various materials suggest that the mass density of hydrometeors is the most significant meteorological parameter related to erosion. Cloud mass density however is not measured routinely, and it is difficult to model the radiative properties observed by satellites for ice particles with varying shape, size and number concentration. Therefore, radiation data from satellites have been compared to simultaneous cloud measurements by aircraft underflights. A variety of cloud conditions including nimbostratus, stratocumulus and cirrus have been sampled over mid-latitudes of the USA during winter and spring months and analyzed with the infrared (IR) and visible measurements from NOAA satellites. Radiances at 12-15 micrometers measured by Vertical Temperature Profile Radiometer (VTPR) instruments are combined with known temperature profiles in order to estimate cloud altitude and infrared (IR) transmissivity. Broadband visible and IR window measurements taken by the Scanning Radiometers on board the same satellites are empirically related to total cloud thickness and mass.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 07, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA033894
Entities
People
- James T. Bunting
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory