Properties of Clouds and Cloud Systems
0) WARM SECTOR
100 :;u 4. -
200
300
:0.s 400
"'-l 500
~
;.J
en SOO
en
"'-l
~
700
Q..
800
900
~
"" ... 1000
o L....;,;"2 0
- 15
-10
- 5
0
;;; iO mls C
b) COLD SEC TOR
100
- • - -
200
JOO
....
800 ••
900
DISTANCE ALONG CD
5
10
o
213
Figure 9.18: Composite distribution of clouds with different optical thicknesses, indicated
by the shading in small squares, as function of top pressure and across the motion track of
mid latitude cyclones compared with the distribution of anomalies in temperature (contours)
and winds (arrows) in the (a) warm sector and (b) cold sector of the cyclone (from Lau and
Crane, 1995).
several instruments were on a single spacecraft in geostationary orbit. Such a cloud-physics
satellite mission would still have to include a cloud profiling radar to determine cloud vertical
structures. Such a mission would also be valuable in lower orbit where measurements would be
limited to larger scales.
For more information, see the ISCCP Web Home Page at URL = http://isccp.giss.Nasa.gov