Stratocumulus and Cloud-Free Reflectance from Multi-Spectral Satellite Measurements.

Abstract

A summary of the multi-spectral radiative characteristics of marine stratocumulus clouds and pre-cloud suspended aerosols was compiled for August 1986 over the offshore regions of the North American west coast. NOAA-9 AVHRR data were utilized at Channel 1 visible (0.63 micrometer), Channel 2 red visible/near infrared (0.90 micrometer), Channel 3 near infrared (3.7 micrometers), and Channel 4 thermal infrared (11.0 micrometers) wavelengths. Stratus cloud pixels and cloud-free area pixels were identified within the data set, and average radiation parameters with associated standard deviations were calculated for the two pixel classifications. The Channel 3 radiance values were reduced to reflectances through a unique procedure that removed the emittance from the total radiance using the detected Channel 4 emittance. Keywords: Satellite cloud analysis, Cloud distribution, Aerosol distribution, Cloud microphysics.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA193899

Entities

People

  • Fredrick M. Tettelbach Jr

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Attenuation
  • Condensation
  • Data Sets
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Electromagnetic Spectra
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Optical Properties
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Radiation
  • Scattering
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Solar Radiation
  • Stratus Clouds
  • Surface Temperature
  • United States
  • United States Naval Academy

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Space