Spectral dependence of MODIS cloud droplet effective radius retrievals for marine boundary layer clouds

Abstract

Low-level warm marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds cover large regions of Earth’s surface. They have a significant role in Earth’s radiative energy balance (Klein and Hartmann, 1993) and hydrological cycle. Despite the fundamental role of low-level warm water clouds in climate, our understanding of these clouds is still limited. In particular, connections between their properties (e.g. cloud fraction, cloud water path, and cloud droplet size) and environmental factors such as aerosol loading and meteorological conditions continue to be uncertain or unknown.