Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-933-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-933-2016
Research article
 | 
26 Jan 2016
Research article |  | 26 Jan 2016

Investigation of the adiabatic assumption for estimating cloud micro- and macrophysical properties from satellite and ground observations

D. Merk, H. Deneke, B. Pospichal, and P. Seifert

Related authors

Detection of convective initiation using Meteosat SEVIRI: implementation in and verification with the tracking and nowcasting algorithm Cb-TRAM
D. Merk and T. Zinner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1903–1918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013, 2013

Related subject area

Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Impact of weather systems on observed precipitation at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard)
Kerstin Ebell, Christian Buhren, Rosa Gierens, Giovanni Chellini, Melanie Lauer, Andreas Walbröl, Sandro Dahlke, Pavel Krobot, and Mario Mech
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7315–7342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7315-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7315-2025, 2025
Short summary
Analysis of ship emission effects on clouds over the southeastern Atlantic using geostationary satellite observations
Nikos Benas, Jan Fokke Meirink, Rob Roebeling, and Martin Stengel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6957–6973, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6957-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6957-2025, 2025
Short summary
Relationship between latent and radiative heating fields of tropical cloud systems using synergistic satellite observations
Xiaoting Chen, Claudia J. Stubenrauch, and Giulio Mandorli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6857–6880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6857-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6857-2025, 2025
Short summary
Shallow cloud variability in Houston, Texas, during the ESCAPE and TRACER field experiments
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6025–6045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6025-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6025-2025, 2025
Short summary
How does the lifetime of detrained cirrus impact the high-cloud radiative effect in the tropics?
George Horner and Edward Gryspeerdt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5617–5631, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5617-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5617-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Ackerman, A. S., Toon, O. B., Taylor, J. P., Johnson, D. W., Hobbs, P. V., and Ferek, R. J.: Effects of Aerosols on Cloud Albedo: Evaluation of Twomey's Parameterization of Cloud Susceptibility Using Measurements of Ship Tracks, J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 2684–2695, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<2684:EOAOCA>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Ahmad, I., Mielonen, T., Grosvenor, D., Portin, H., Arola, A., Mikkonen, S., Kühn, T., Leskinen, A., Juotsensaari, J., Komppula, M., Lehtinen, K., Laaksonen, A., and Romakkaniemi, S.: Long-term measurements of cloud droplet concentrations and aerosol-cloud interactions in continental boundary layer clouds, Tellus B, 65, 20138, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.20138, 2013.
Albrecht, B. A., Fairall, C. W., Thomson, D. W., White, A. B., Snider, J. B., and Schubert, W. H.: Surface-based remote sensing of the observed and the Adiabatic liquid water content of stratocumulus clouds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 17, 89–92, https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i001p00089, 1990.
Baker, M. B., Blyth, A. M., Carruthers, D. J., Choularton, T. W., Fullarton, G., Gay, M. J., Latham, J., Mill, C. S., Smith, M. H., Stromberg, I. M., Caughey, S. J., and Conway, B. J.: Field studies of the effect of entrainment upon the structure of clouds at Great Dun Fell, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 108, 899–916, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710845810, 1982.
Battan, L. J.: Radar observation of the atmosphere, University of Chicago Press, 1973.
Download
Short summary
A 2-year data set is analyzed to evaluate the consistency and limitations of current ground-based and satellite-retrieved cloud property data sets. We demonstrate that neither the assumption of a completely adiabatic cloud nor the assumption of a constant sub-adiabatic factor is fulfilled. As cloud adiabaticity is required to estimate the cloud droplet number concentration, but is not available from passive satellite observations, we need an independent method to estimate the adiabatic factor.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint