Fog and Low Cloud Frequency and Properties from Active-Sensor Satellite Data
1
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany
2
Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(8), 1209; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10081209
Received: 28 June 2018 / Revised: 24 July 2018 / Accepted: 30 July 2018 / Published: 2 August 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Low-Level Liquid Water Clouds and Fog)
An analysis of fog and low cloud properties and distribution is performed using satellite-based LiDAR. Recent years have seen great progress in the remote sensing of fog and low clouds using passive satellite-based sensors. On this basis, maps of fog distribution and frequency as well as baseline climatologies have been constructed. However, no information on fog altitude and vertical extent is available in this way, and fog/low cloud below other clouds cannot be detected in most cases. In this study, ten years of observations by the LiDAR aboard the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol LiDAR and Pathfinder Satellite Observations) platform are used to construct a map and statistical evaluations of fog/low cloud distribution and properties. For the purpose of evaluation, a comparison is made to an evaluation of fog/low cloud distribution in Europe, derived from Meteosat measurements using the Satellite-Based Operation Fog Observation Scheme (SOFOS). Both maps show good agreement in spatial patterns in this region with very diverse fog formation mechanisms. It is found that fog/low cloud layers display distinct spatial differences in terms of geometrical thickness and detection accuracy. The number of fog/low cloud instances missed by passive-sensor retrievals due to multi-layer cloud situations is considerable, with clear regional differences.
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Keywords:
fog; low clouds; CALIPSO; remote sensing; satellite; LiDAR; climatology
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MDPI and ACS Style
Cermak, J. Fog and Low Cloud Frequency and Properties from Active-Sensor Satellite Data. Remote Sens. 2018, 10, 1209. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10081209
AMA Style
Cermak J. Fog and Low Cloud Frequency and Properties from Active-Sensor Satellite Data. Remote Sensing. 2018; 10(8):1209. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10081209
Chicago/Turabian StyleCermak, Jan. 2018. "Fog and Low Cloud Frequency and Properties from Active-Sensor Satellite Data" Remote Sens. 10, no. 8: 1209. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10081209
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