The use of JAXA’s next generation satellites, the EarthCARE and the GCOM-C, for observing overall cloud
systems on the Earth is discussed. The satellites will be launched in the middle of 2010-era and contribute for observing
aerosols and clouds in terms of climate change, environment, weather forecasting, and cloud revolution process study.
This paper describes the role of such satellites and how to use the observing data showing concepts and some sample
viewgraphs. Synergistic use of sensors is a key of the study. Visible to infrared bands are used for cloudy and clear
discriminating from passively obtained satellite images. Cloud properties such as the cloud optical thickness, the
effective particle radii, and the cloud top temperature will be retrieved from visible to infrared wavelengths of imagers.
Additionally, we are going to combine cloud properties obtained from passive imagers and radar reflectivities obtained
from an active radar in order to improve our understanding of cloud evolution process. This is one of the new techniques
of satellite data analysis in terms of cloud sciences in the next decade. Since the climate change and cloud process study
have mutual beneficial relationship, a multispectral wide-swath imagers like the GCOM-C SGLI and a comprehensive
observation package of cloud and aerosol like the EarthCARE are both necessary.
The Global Change Observation Mission (GCOMC)/Second Generation Global Imager (SGLI) is an passive optical
radiometer for monitoring climate change, which is scheduled to launch in around 2014 by the Japan Aerospace
eXploration Agency (JAXA). The SGLI sensor is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel observation at wavelengths
from near-UV to thermal infrared. The SGLI consists of two radiometer instruments, the Visible and Near Infrared
Radiometer (VNR) and the Infrared Scanner (IRS). SGLI-VNR is capable of observing polarized and non-polarized
radiance. In the GCOMC satellite mission, cloud properties such as the cloud optical thickness, the effective particle
radii, and the cloud top temperature will be retrieved from SGLI-VNR data. The International Satellite Cloud
Climatology Project (ISCCP) cloud product will be produce and cloud inhomogeneity of the warm water cloud will be
discussed. This is one of the new sciences of the GCOM-C satellite mission in terms of cloud sciences. Furthermore, ice
crystal scattering database will be developed for ice cloud remote sensing.
In recent years, it has been revealed that the cloud microphysical properties such as cloud particle radii
obtained from satellite remote sensing were of apparent values. A combined use of passive and active sensor has
gradually revealed about what we observed using passive imager thorough the vertical information of clouds
obtained from active sensors. For understanding the process of cloud growth in nature, model that simulates cloud
droplet growth is also needed. Observation results obtained from the satellite remote sensing are used for
validating model such as cloud resolving model and spectral-bin microphysics cloud model. Vice-versa, models
are used for understanding the process that are hidden in satellite-remote sensing results. We are aiming consistent
understanding of clouds with observation and modeling.
In this paper, we will introduce a preliminary result of multi-sensor view of warm water clouds and we
will review our research strategy of cloud sciences, using satellite remote sensing, the cloud growth model, and the
radiative transfer.
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