Evaluation of a new operational technique for producing clear radiances.

Abstract

To produce atmospheric temperature profiles from measurements of infrared data, it is necessary to obtain infrared radiances for clear areas. Clear radiances are obtained either by identifying spots that are completely clear or by extracting clear values from areas that are partly overcast. During the study, it was discovered that the crucial assumption of a single layer or even a two- or three-layer cloud is seldom satisfied. The new algorithm uses various tests to identify pairs of spots with the same cloud heights.-from Authors