Satellite-Derived Cloud and Radiation Retrievals over Various ARM Domains

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Description

The ARM program provides ground-based measurements at various climatically representative sites, providing intensive sampling of localized regions. While these observations are invaluable, satellites have the capability of monitoring cloud and radiative parameters, particularly top-of-atmosphere (TOA) shortwave (SW) albedo and outgoing longwave (LW) fluxes, over large portions of the Earth's surface. Such large-scale coverage is valuable in verifying and constraining models, and performing radiative closure studies. The NASA/Langley Cloud group routinely derives cloud and radiative parameters covering ARM fixed and Mobile Facility (AMF) sites, from various geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites, using VISST (Visible Infrared Solar Split-Window Technique) and SIST (Solar Infrared Split-Window Technique) algorithms. These datasets are made available within the ARM archive, as well as from the NASA Langley Clouds and Radiation Group website. An overview of the datasets available over various ARM fixed and AMF sites is provided, including new datasets over the NSA derived from AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) retrievals and, particularly, from GOES-13 covering the GOAmazon (Green Ocean-Amazon) field experiment domain. These latest datasets were derived using the latest versions of the VISST/SIST algorithms. Comparisons of VISST-derived parameters with ARM ground-based instrument retrievals are shown. Specific improvements are highlighted, including skin temperature retrievals that account for viewing angle biases and TOA SW and LW fluxes that are based on functions determined from matched imager and CERES radiances.