2013/03/01 by Shengpeng Yang, Xiaolei Zou · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Atmospheric aerosols and clouds #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Lapse rate #Radio occultation #Environmental science #Atmospheric sciences #Cloud base #Cloud top #Cloud height #Climatology #Water vapor #Meteorology #Cloud cover #Ionosphere #Geology #Cloud computing #Satellite #Geography #Physics
paper · doi:10.1175/jcli-d-12-00646.1
openalex publication_date 2013/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) radio occultation (RO) refractivity profiles in altostratus and nimbostratus clouds from 2007 to 2010 are first identified based on collocated CloudSat data. Vertical temperature profiles in these clouds are then retrieved from cloudy refractivity profiles. Contributions of cloud liquid water content and ice water content are also included in the retrieval algorithm. The temperature profiles and their lapse rates are compared with those from a standard GPS RO wet retrieval without including cloud effects. On average, the temperatures from cloudy retrieval are about 0.5–1.0 K warmer than the GPS RO wet retrieval, except for the altitudes near the nimbostratus base. The differences of temperature between the two methods are largest in summer and smallest in winter. The lapse rate in altostratus clouds is around 6.5°–7.5°C km−1 and does not vary greatly with height. On the contrary, the lapse rate increases significantly with height in nimbostratus clouds, from about 2.5°–3.5°C km−1 near the cloud base to about 5.0°–6.0°C km−1 at cloud center and 6.5°–7.5°C km−1 below the cloud top. Seasonal variability of lapse rate derived from the cloudy retrieval is larger than that derived from the wet retrieval. The lapse rate within clouds is smaller in summer and larger in winter. The mean lapse rate decreases with temperature in all seasons.