Assessment of aircraft icing potential using satellite data

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of using satellite data to develop a climatology of aircraft icing probability in oceanic regions. The datasets employed in this analysis are: the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) microwave radiances; the US Air Force Three-Dimensional Nephanalysis (3DNEPH); the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) initialized analyses; and the High-Resolution Infrared Sounder 2-Microwave Sounding Unit (HIRS2-MSU) satellite radiances. Estimates of cloud temperature, cloud horizontal extent, liquid water path, cloud depth, cloud liquid water content, drop-size characteristics, and precipitation charcteristics are obtained from these datasets. The joint probability of an icing encounter with a specified mass of ice accretion can be used to quantify the icing threat. -from Authors