Introduction

Abstract

This chapter offer a concise introduction to the following chapters. There are numerous satellite data products freely accessible that contain a variety of cloud and precipitation parameters. For a user new to satellite remote sensing, the challenge would be probably not the lack of choice but that there are too many options to choose from. The user is advised to be aware that the same variable could be derived from various types of sensors with uncertainties of different nature. Cloud amount from infrared radiance is not identical to lidar-based cloud amount, and precipitation from microwave brightness temperature never precisely agrees with radar-derived precipitation. Even the same parameter from the same kind of instruments may give diverse answers when the measurements are made from different orbits or processed through different retrieval algorithms. Expert knowledge is instrumental for disentangling all these complex issues involved in the construction of satellite data products. This book is hoped to be a little fountain of useful knowledge on the basic principles of satellite remote sensing.