1. Overview of Satellite-Derived Cirrus Properties During SPARTICUS and MACPEX P. Minnis, L. Nguyen NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA R. Palikonda, K. Bedka, T. Chee, D. A. Spangenberg, J. K. Ayers SSAI, Hampton, VA SEAC4RS Leadership Meeting Palmdale, CA, 31 January – 1 February 2012

2. OBJECTIVES Provide satellite complement to in situ, ground, and modeling studies Provide high temporal resolution imagery for experiments Provide consistent retrievals of cloud properties for experiments Provide real-time support in field Real-time imagery and interactive analysis - mission planning & execution Near-real time cloud retrievals

3. MTSAT 30 min (on the half hour), 4-km resolution - 0.65, 3.9, 6.7, 10.8, 12.0 µm FY-2E 1 hr (on the hour), 4-km resolution (calib?) - 0.65, 3.9, 6.7, 10.8, 12.0 µm Meteosat-7 30 min, 4-km resolution - GOES-13 (east): 0.73, 6.9, 11.5, µm MODIS, twice daily (Terra & Aqua), 1-km, multispectral NPP VIIRS, 1-km multispectral 1330 LT NOAA-15/16/18/19 AVHRR, later TRMM VIRS, TMI later Data

4. High-Cloud Statistics, SEAC4RS Domain 0.25°, MTSAT, Aug-Sept 2008-2011 Frequency of OccurrenceFractional Coverage Good location for studying ice clouds Greatest amounts & frequencies over - Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, & NE India - Gulf of Thailand, Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, E. South China Sea

5. High-Cloud Diurnal Cycle, SEAC4RS Domain 0.25°, MTSAT, Aug-Sept 2008-2011 0000 UTC = 0700 LT1200 UTC = 1900 UTC

6. Overshooting Tops, Example IR channel used to detect OT, Bedka method 1-km VIS MTSATIR Detections correspond to turrets in 1-km VIS imagery

7. Overshooting Tops, SEAC4RS Domain 0.25°, MTSAT, Aug-Sept 2005-2011 Total OccurrencesDiurnal Behavior Most common over Thailand & Cambodia, S. China Sea, NE Indian coast Daytime peak over land Night peaks over coastal waters Mixed times over open waters

8. Overshooting Tops, SEAC4RS Domain 0.25°, MTSAT, Aug-Sept 2005-2011 Occurrences, 9 AM – 9 PMOccurrences, 9 PM – 9AM 9 AM - 9 PM: most over land, W. Bay of Bengal, S. China Sea 9 PM – 9 AM: most over coastal water, S. China Sea

9. Overshooting Tops, SEAC4RS Domain 0.25°, MTSAT, Aug-Sept 2005-2011

10. Convective Cycle Summary Over land - Peak convection occurs at ~0900 UTC (~4 PM) near coasts - Peak convection an hour or two later deep inland - Peak convection at ~ 2 AM over eastern Thai lowlands & Nan River Basin - Minimal deep convection before 0730 UTC (~2:30 PM) Over water - Peak convection occurs at ~1400 UTC (~9 PM) near coasts - Peak convection moves seaward at later times - Peak convection during morning (6-10 AM) over N Bay of Bengal

11. Langley SEAC4RS Web Page http://www- angler.larc.nasa.gov http://www- angler.larc.nasa.gov Click on “SEAC4RS” on sidebar or from main SEAC4RS page Under construction, will add climatological info soon + MODIS, AVHRR, VIRS

12. Near-real time imagery from 3 GEOSats, 26 Jan 2012 FY-2, 0801 UTCMTSAT, 0832 UTC Met-7 IR, 1900 UMet-7 WV, 1900 U

13. MTSAT-2 Retrieval Domains, SEAC4RS 0832 UTC, 26 Jan 2012 Domain (4-km)Large Domain (8-km)

14. New Satellite Prediction Tool http://www- angler.larc.nasa.gov/gsp http://www- angler.larc.nasa.gov Will complement the old system

15. Example of Convective Object Tracking http://angler.larc.nasa.gov/site/people/data/kbedka/seacrs_objects_anim.gif FY2-E, 28-29 Sept, 2010 IRage TminOT vectorsstrong conv

16. Summary Capabilities on site will be much enhanced compared to online data - change resolution and domain as desired - provide exact locations of objects as needed - variety of loops and model overlays as needed - flight tracks in near real time (given the nav data) Add additional satellites to web page - MODIS, NPP, AVHRR, CALIPSO, CloudSat, TRMM Matching of data with flights and ground sites as it comes in - cloud products & radiances New algorithms to retrieve thin cirrus and ML clouds will be employed Add features as requested, if possible

17. August 2006-2009 September 2006-2009 Cloud Cover: 88% Multi-layer: 52% Above 15 km all cirrus are tenuous – IWC < 0.005 g/m3 13-15 Km Most Cirrus are tenuous - IWC < 0.01 g/m3 At 10 km, most cirrus volumes have IWC > 0.05 g/m3 SEAC4RS A-Train Cloud Climatology (2006-2009) 20 degree box centered on Bangkok.

18. August 2006-9 September 2006-9 0 0.25 0.5 1 3 6 10 14 10 6 3 2 1 0.5 Base Height- Layer Thickness Histograms 15% TTL all < 3 km thick 35% Cirrus 6-14 km > 3 km 10% Cirrus 6-10 km > 6 km Deep Echoes ~ 5% cover 20% Boundary Layer Cloud more or less evenly distributed in thickness Tendency for Cirrus to be lower and thicker in September. 14 10 6 3 2 1 0.5