A Global Analysis and Correlation of Nimbus 7 Cloud and Longwave Radiation Data
Abstract
Cloud data obtained from the Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and longwave radiation obtained from the Earth Radiation Budget instrument, all aboard the NIMBUS 7 satellite, have been used to present global analyses of the total cloud, high cloud and radiation fields and a correlation between the fields. The horizontal projections of the seasonal variation of the ITCZ by a maximum of cloud cover. The SH middle latitudes depict a zonal pattern of cloud amount for winter and summer, while the NH reveals an increase of cloud from summer to winter over the storm tracks. The dry subtropics are defined by a minimum of cloud cover. Areas of small or large amount of total cloud are defined by a small standard deviation, while the transition zones between maximum and minimum centers of total cloud are characterized by a large standard deviation. The standard deviation of the high cloud reveals that in areas of large high cloud amount, the variation of cloud is large due to the advective or convective processes with which the cloud is associated. For small amount of high cloud, the variation of the cloud is small. Analyses of the global distribution of the seasonal mean field for infrared radiation (IR) indicate that areas that are defined by high cloud amount are also characterized by low IR due to the low radiative temperatures of the high cloud.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 24, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA197223
Entities
People
- Deanna R. Ramirez
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology