Articles | Volume 22, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8259-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8259-2022
Research article
 | 
27 Jun 2022
Research article |  | 27 Jun 2022

An evaluation of the liquid cloud droplet effective radius derived from MODIS, airborne remote sensing, and in situ measurements from CAMP2Ex

Dongwei Fu, Larry Di Girolamo, Robert M. Rauber, Greg M. McFarquhar, Stephen W. Nesbitt, Jesse Loveridge, Yulan Hong, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, Brian Cairns, Mikhail D. Alexandrov, Paul Lawson, Sarah Woods, Simone Tanelli, Sebastian Schmidt, Chris Hostetler, and Amy Jo Scarino

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Cited articles

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Alexandrov, M. D., Cairns, B., Emde, C., Ackerman, A. S., van Diedenhoven, B.: Accuracy assessments of cloud droplet size retrievals from polarized reflectance measurements by the research scanning polarimeter, Remote Sens. Environ., 125, 92–111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2012.07.012, 2012. 
Alexandrov, M. D., Cairns, B., Wasilewski, A. P., Ackerman, A. S., McGille, M. J., Yorks, J. E., Hlavka, D. L., Platnick, S. E., Arnold, G. T., van Diedenhoven, B., Chowdhary, J., Ottaviani, M., and Knobelspiesse, K. D.: Liquid water cloud properties during the Polarimeter Definition Experiment (PODEX), Remote Sens. Environ., 169, 20–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.07.029, 2015. 
Alexandrov, M. D., Cairns, B., Sinclair, K., Wasilewski, A.P., Ziemba, L., Crosbie, E., Moore, R., Hair, J., Scarino, A. J., Hu, Y., Stamnes, S., Shook, M. A., and Chen, G.: Retrievals of cloud droplet size from the research scanning polarimeter data: Validation using in situ measurements. Remote Sens. Environ., 210, 76–95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.03.005, 2018. 
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Satellite-retrieved cloud microphysics are widely used in climate research because of their central role in water and energy cycles. Here, we provide the first detailed investigation of retrieved cloud drop sizes from in situ and various satellite and airborne remote sensing techniques applied to real cumulus cloud fields. We conclude that the most widely used passive remote sensing method employed in climate research produces high biases of 6–8 µm (60 %–80 %) caused by 3-D radiative effects.
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