Evaluation of CLARA-A2 and ISCCP-H Cloud Cover Climate Data Records over Europe with ECA&D Ground-Based Measurements

Clouds are of high importance for the climate system but they still remain one of its principal uncertainties. Remote sensing techniques applied to satellite observations have assisted tremendously in the creation of long-term and homogeneous data records; however, satellite data sets need to be validated and compared with other data records, especially ground measurements. In the present study, the spatiotemporal distribution and variability of Total Cloud Cover (TCC) from the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) Cloud, Albedo And Surface Radiation dataset from AVHRR data—edition 2 (CLARA-A2) and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project H-series (ISCCP-H) is analyzed over Europe. The CLARA-A2 data record has been created using measurements of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument onboard the polar orbiting NOAA and the EUMETSAT MetOp satellites, whereas the ISCCP-H data were produced by a combination of measurements from geostationary meteorological satellites and the AVHRR instrument on the polar orbiting satellites. An intercomparison of the two data records is performed over their common period, 1984 to 2012. In addition, a comparison of the two satellite data records is made against TCC observations at 22 meteorological stations in Europe, from the European Climate Assessment & Dataset (ECA&D). The results indicate generally larger ISCCP-H TCC with respect to the corresponding CLARA-A2 data, in particular in the Mediterranean. Compared to ECA&D data, both satellite datasets reveal a reasonable performance, with overall mean TCC biases of 2.1 and 5.2% for CLARA-A2 and ISCCP-H, respectively. This, along with the higher correlation coefficients between CLARA-A2 and ECA&D TCC, indicates the better performance of CLARA-A2 TCC data.

[1]  W. Rossow,et al.  Cloud Detection Using Satellite Measurements of Infrared and Visible Radiances for ISCCP , 1993 .

[2]  J. Key,et al.  Arctic clouds in multiyear satellite data sets , 1999 .

[3]  Christos J. Lolis,et al.  A study on the total cloud cover variability over the Mediterranean region during the period 1979–2014 with the use of the ERA-Interim database , 2018, Theoretical and Applied Climatology.

[4]  William B. Rossow,et al.  Evaluation of Long-Term Calibrations of the AVHRR Visible Radiances , 2015 .

[5]  Lei Shi,et al.  Algorithm Development of Temperature and Humidity Profile Retrievals for Long-Term HIRS Observations , 2016, Remote. Sens..

[6]  C. Bretherton,et al.  Clouds and Aerosols , 2013 .

[7]  W. Rossow,et al.  ISCCP Cloud Data Products , 1991 .

[8]  M. Wild,et al.  Increasing cloud cover in the 20th century: review and new findings in Spain , 2012 .

[9]  Thomas Lavergne,et al.  Use of C-Band Scatterometer for Sea Ice Edge Identification , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[10]  Karl-Göran Karlsson,et al.  NWCSAF AVHRR Cloud Detection and Analysis Using Dynamic Thresholds and Radiative Transfer Modeling. Part I: Algorithm Description , 2005 .

[11]  Steven Platnick,et al.  Spatially complete global spectral surface albedos: value-added datasets derived from Terra MODIS land products , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[12]  Yijian Zeng,et al.  Analysis of current validation practices in Europe for space-based climate data records of essential climate variables , 2015, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[13]  Kai Zhang,et al.  MAC‐v1: A new global aerosol climatology for climate studies , 2013 .

[14]  Mark D. Zelinka,et al.  Evidence for climate change in the satellite cloud record , 2016, Nature.

[15]  Anders Moberg,et al.  Daily dataset of 20th‐century surface air temperature and precipitation series for the European Climate Assessment , 2002 .

[16]  Karl-Göran Karlsson,et al.  CLARA-A1: a cloud, albedo, and radiation dataset from 28 yr of global AVHRR data , 2013 .

[17]  C. C. Wackerman,et al.  Aircraft active and passive microwave validation of sea ice concentration from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program special sensor microwave imager , 1991 .

[18]  M. Kästner,et al.  Alpine cloud climatology using long-term NOAA-AVHRR satellite data , 2001 .

[19]  S. Vicente‐Serrano,et al.  Fewer clouds in the Mediterranean: consistency of observations and climate simulations , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[20]  A. Laing,et al.  A 10-year climatology of warm-season cloud patterns over Europe and the Mediterranean from Meteosat IR observations , 2010 .

[21]  X. Calbet,et al.  Validation practices for satellite‐based Earth observation data across communities , 2017 .

[22]  T. Karl,et al.  Increased cloudiness in the United States during the first half of the Twentieth Century: Fact or fiction? , 1990 .

[23]  K. Moffett,et al.  Remote Sens , 2015 .

[24]  James R. Anderson,et al.  A land use and land cover classification system for use with remote sensor data , 1976 .

[25]  W. Read,et al.  The Stratospheric Water and Ozone Satellite Homogenized (SWOOSH) database: a long-term database for climate studies. , 2016, Earth system science data.

[26]  Karl-Göran Karlsson,et al.  A 10 year cloud climatology over Scandinavia derived from NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer imagery , 2003 .

[27]  Hermann Mannstein,et al.  A 14‐year European Cloud Climatology from NOAA/AVHRR data in comparison to surface observations , 2004 .

[28]  Bomin Sun,et al.  Trends in U.S. Total Cloud Cover from a Homogeneity-Adjusted Dataset , 2014 .

[29]  A. Bartzokas,et al.  On the intra-annual variation of cloudiness over the Mediterranean region , 2017, Atmospheric Research.

[30]  David A. Robinson,et al.  Seasonal Variability of Northern Hemisphere Snow Extent Using Visible Satellite Data , 2000 .

[31]  Jesslyn F. Brown,et al.  Development of a land-cover characteristics database for the conterminous U.S. , 1991 .

[32]  A. P. Siebesma,et al.  Impact of aerosols and clouds on decadal trends in all-sky solar radiation over the Netherlands (1966-2015) , 2017 .

[33]  Henk Eskes,et al.  Multi sensor reanalysis of total ozone , 2010 .

[34]  C. Azorín-Molina,et al.  A daytime over land algorithm for computing AVHRR convective cloud climatologies for the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands , 2013 .

[35]  Martin Wild,et al.  Trends in aerosol radiative effects over Europe inferred from observed cloud cover, solar “dimming,” and solar “brightening” , 2007 .

[36]  A. P. Siebesma,et al.  Clouds, circulation and climate sensitivity , 2015 .

[37]  B. Ahrens,et al.  Regional Climate Projections , 2015 .

[38]  A. Evan,et al.  Empirical Removal of Artifacts from the ISCCP and PATMOS-x Satellite Cloud Records , 2015 .

[39]  Andi Walther,et al.  A Naive Bayesian Cloud-Detection Scheme Derived fromCALIPSOand Applied within PATMOS-x , 2012 .

[40]  Karl-Göran Karlsson,et al.  Inter-Comparison and Evaluation of the Four Longest Satellite-Derived Cloud Climate Data Records: CLARA-A2, ESA Cloud CCI V3, ISCCP-HGM, and PATMOS-x , 2018, Remote. Sens..

[41]  Karl-Göran Karlsson,et al.  Characterization of AVHRR global cloud detection sensitivity based on CALIPSO-CALIOP cloud optical thickness information : demonstration of results based on the CM SAF CLARA-A2 climate data record , 2018 .

[42]  Stephen G. Warren,et al.  A Survey of Changes in Cloud Cover and Cloud Types over Land from Surface Observations, 1971–96 , 2007 .

[43]  William B. Rossow,et al.  Comparison of ISCCP and Other Cloud Amounts , 1993 .

[44]  Eva Borbas,et al.  Development of a Global Infrared Land Surface Emissivity Database for Application to Clear Sky Sounding Retrievals from Multispectral Satellite Radiance Measurements , 2008 .

[45]  William B. Rossow,et al.  ISCCP cloud properties associated with standard cloud types identified in individual surface observations , 2001 .

[46]  Steven Platnick,et al.  Viewing Geometry Dependencies in MODIS Cloud Products , 2010 .

[47]  H. Treut,et al.  Winter weather regimes over the Mediterranean region: their role for the regional climate and projected changes in the twenty-first century , 2013, Climate Dynamics.

[48]  William B. Rossow,et al.  The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project H-Series climate data record product , 2017 .

[49]  J. Norris,et al.  What Can Cloud Observations Tell Us About Climate Variability? , 2000 .

[50]  W. Rossow,et al.  Advances in understanding clouds from ISCCP , 1999 .

[51]  Andi Walther,et al.  The Pathfinder Atmospheres–Extended AVHRR Climate Dataset , 2014 .

[52]  J. F. Meirink,et al.  CLARA-A2: the second edition of the CM SAF cloud and radiation data record from 34 years of global AVHRR data , 2016 .

[53]  J. Norris,et al.  Cloud cover climatologies in the Mediterranean obtained from satellites, surface observations, reanalyses, and CMIP5 simulations: validation and future scenarios , 2016, Climate Dynamics.

[54]  A. Reale,et al.  NOAA operational sounding products for advanced TOVS , 2008 .

[55]  David A. Robinson,et al.  Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover variability and change over 1922–2010 including an assessment of uncertainty , 2010 .

[56]  Steven Platnick,et al.  The MODIS Cloud Optical and Microphysical Products: Collection 6 Updates and Examples From Terra and Aqua , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.