Infrared Scattering of Cloud in an Isothermal Atmosphere
Advanced Search
Select up to three search categories and corresponding keywords using the fields to the right. Refer to the Help section for more detailed instructions.

Search our Collections & Repository

For very narrow results

When looking for a specific result

Best used for discovery & interchangable words

Recommended to be used in conjunction with other fields

Dates

to

Document Data
Library
People
Clear All
Clear All

For additional assistance using the Custom Query please check out our Help Page

The NOAA IR serves as an archival repository of NOAA-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by NOAA or funded partners. As a repository, the NOAA IR retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
i

Infrared Scattering of Cloud in an Isothermal Atmosphere

Filetype[PDF-7.43 MB]


Select the Download button to view the document
This document is over 5mb in size and cannot be previewed
Details You May Also Like

Details:

  • Journal Title:
    Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service)
  • Description:
    In the absence of scattering, thermal contrast in the atmosphere is the key to infrared remote sensing. Without the thermal contrast, the amount of absorption will be identical to the amount of emission, making the atmospheric vertical structure undetectable using remote sensing techniques. Here we show that, even in such an isothermal atmosphere, the scattering of clouds can cause a distinguishable change in upwelling radiance at the top of the atmosphere. A two-stream analytical solution, as well as a budget analysis based on Monte Carlo simulations, are used to offer a physical explanation of such influence on an idealized isothermal atmosphere by cloud scattering: it increases the chance of photons being absorbed by the atmosphere before they can reach the boundaries (both top and bottom), which leads to a reduction of TOA upwelling radiance. Actual sounding profiles and cloud properties inferred from satellite observations within 6-h time frames are fed into a more realistic and comprehensive radiative transfer model to show such cloud scattering effect, under nearly isothermal circumstances in the lower troposphere, can lead to ∼1–1.5-K decrease in brightness temperature for the nadir-view MODIS 8.5-μm channel. The study suggests that cloud scattering can provide signals useful for remote sensing applications even for such an isothermal environment.
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 80(11), 2701-2710
  • DOI:
  • ISSN:
    0022-4928;1520-0469;
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Publisher:
    American Meteorological Society
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Funding:
    Grant no. NA20NES4400007
  • Rights Information:
    Other
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:

Supporting Files

  • No Additional Files
More +

You May Also Like

Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov

Version 3.27.1