Seven years of global retrieval of cloud properties using space-borne data of GOME
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Lelli, L., A. A. Kokhanovsky, V. V. Rozanov, M. Vountas, A. M. Sayer, and J. P. Burrows. “Seven Years of Global Retrieval of Cloud Properties Using Space-Borne Data of GOME.” Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 5, no. 7 (July 10, 2012): 1551–70. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-1551-2012.
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CC BY 3.0 DEED Attribution 3.0 Unported
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We present a global and regional multi-annual (June 1996–May 2003) analysis of cloud properties (spherical cloud albedo – CA, cloud optical thickness – COT and cloud top height – CTH) of optically thick (COT > 5) clouds, derived using measurements from the GOME instrument on board the ESA ERS-2 space platform. We focus on cloud top height, which is obtained from top-of-atmosphere backscattered solar light measurements in the O₂ A-band using the Semi-Analytical CloUd Retrieval Algorithm SACURA. The physical framework relies on the asymptotic equations of radiative transfer. The dataset has been validated against independent ground- and satellite-based retrievals and is aimed to support trace-gases retrievals as well as to create a robust long-term climatology together with SCIAMACHY and GOME-2 ensuing retrievals. We observed the El Niño-Southern Oscillation anomaly in the 1997–1998 record through CTH values over the Pacific Ocean. The global average CTH as derived from GOME is 5.6 ± 3.2 km, for a corresponding average COT of 19.1 ± 13.9.