Skylab Near-Infrared Observations of Clouds Indicating Supercooled Liquid Water Droplets
- 1 March 1982
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Vol. 39 (3) , 635-647
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1982)039<0635:sniooc>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Orographically-induced lee-wave clouds were observed over New Mexico by a multichannel scanning radiometer on Skylab during December 1973. Channels centered at 0.83, 1.61 and 2.125 μm were used to determine the cloud optical thickness, thermodynamic phase and effective particle size. An additional channel centered at 11.4 μm was used to determine cloud-top temperature, which was corroborated through comparison with the stereographically determined cloud top altitudes and conventional temperature soundings. Analysis of the measured near-infrared reflection functions at 1.61 and 2.125 μm are most easily interpreted as indicating the presence of liquid-phase water droplets. This interpretation is not conclusive even after considerable effort to understand possible sources for misinterpretation. However, if accepted the resulting phase determination is considered anomalous due to the inferred cloud-top temperatures being in the −32 to −47°C range. Theory for the homogeneous nucleation of pure superco... Abstract Orographically-induced lee-wave clouds were observed over New Mexico by a multichannel scanning radiometer on Skylab during December 1973. Channels centered at 0.83, 1.61 and 2.125 μm were used to determine the cloud optical thickness, thermodynamic phase and effective particle size. An additional channel centered at 11.4 μm was used to determine cloud-top temperature, which was corroborated through comparison with the stereographically determined cloud top altitudes and conventional temperature soundings. Analysis of the measured near-infrared reflection functions at 1.61 and 2.125 μm are most easily interpreted as indicating the presence of liquid-phase water droplets. This interpretation is not conclusive even after considerable effort to understand possible sources for misinterpretation. However, if accepted the resulting phase determination is considered anomalous due to the inferred cloud-top temperatures being in the −32 to −47°C range. Theory for the homogeneous nucleation of pure superco...Keywords
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