Global, seasonal cloud variations from satellite radiance measurements. II - Cloud properties and radiative effects

Abstract Global, daily, visible and infrared radiance measurements from the NOAA-5 Scanning Radiometer (SR) are analyzed for the months of January, April, July and October 1977 to infer cloud and surface radiative properties and their effects on the Earth and surface radiation budgets. The analysis makes use of several additional datasets to help isolate the cloud contributions. The cloud properties inferred from satellite data are found to be about as accurate as the validation datasets available from other sources, but significant improvements are needed for better diagnosis of cloud-radiative feedbacks. Consequently, advances in cloud retrievals from satellite data will be like “new measurement” that have no independent validation. Reconstruction of regional, monthly mean Earth radiation budgets (ERB) from cloud, atmosphere and surface data is also nearly as accurate as can be checked with summaries of other, more direct measurements, improvements require detailed intercomparisons at smaller space/time...