Articles | Volume 21, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11979-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11979-2021
Research article
 | 
10 Aug 2021
Research article |  | 10 Aug 2021

Satellite retrieval of cloud base height and geometric thickness of low-level cloud based on CALIPSO

Xin Lu, Feiyue Mao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Yannian Zhu, Zengxin Pan, and Wei Gong

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Cited articles

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Andersen, H., Cermak, J., Solodovnik, I., Lelli, L., and Vogt, R.: Spatiotemporal dynamics of fog and low clouds in the Namib unveiled with ground- and space-based observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4383–4392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4383-2019, 2019. 
ARM: Ceilometer (CEIL): cloud-base heights, ARM Data Center [data set], Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA, available at: https://adc.arm.gov/discovery/#/results/site_code::ena/meas_category_code::cloud/meas_subcategory_detail::cloud.macro, last access: 5 August 2021. 
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Short summary
In this paper, a novel method for retrieving cloud base height and geometric thickness is developed and applied to produce a global climatology of boundary layer clouds with a high accuracy. The retrieval is based on the 333 m resolution low-level cloud distribution as obtained from the CALIPSO lidar data. The main part of the study describes the variability of cloud vertical geometrical properties in space, season, and time of the day. Resultant new insights are presented.
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