Characteristic Size Spectra of Cumulus Fields Observed from Satellites.
Abstract
A technique is presented which allows the investigator to monitor size distributions of small scale cumulus fields using satellite data. The limitations of the technique are shown to be the resolution and quality of the satellite imagery. Twenty-four samples of small cumulus are studied using DMSP and SMS-1 satellite imagery. A total of eleven DMSP samples are examined from North Carolina and Florida. These samples are compared to six DMSP samples and seven SMS-1 samples drawn from cumulus fields observed over the subtropical and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Comparisons are based on parameters derived from the least-squares solutions of a linearized first order exponential model. An exponential decrease in cloud number density with increasing cloud diameter is exhibited in both the mean cloud number density distributions of the case studies and the mean cloud number density distributions of selected typical cumulus samples. The poorer data quality of the SMS-1 imagery is seen to cause deviations from the exponential model in approximately 40% of the samples.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA049936
Entities
People
- Malcolm Douglas Gifford
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology