A newly developed daytime cloud property retrieval algorithm FAME-C (Freie
Universität Berlin AATSR MERIS Cloud) is presented. Synergistic observations
from AATSR and MERIS, both mounted on the polar orbiting satellite ENVISAT,
are used for cloud screening. For cloudy pixels two main steps are carried out
in a sequential form. First, a micro-physical cloud property retrieval is
performed using an AATSR near-infrared and visible channel. Cloud phase, cloud
optical thickness, and effective radius are retrieved, and subsequently cloud
water path is computed. Second, two independent cloud top height products are
retrieved. For cloud top temperature AATSR brightness temperatures are used,
while for cloud top pressure the MERIS oxygen-A absorption channel is used.
Results from the micro-physical retrieval serve as input for the two cloud top
height retrievals. Introduced are the AATSR and MERIS forward models and
auxiliary data needed in FAME-C. Also, the optimal estimation method with
uncertainty estimates, which also provides for uncertainty estimated of the
retrieved property on a pixel-basis, is presented. Within the frame of the ESA
Climate Change Initiative project first global cloud property retrievals have
been conducted for the years 2007–2009. For this time period verification
efforts are presented comparing FAME-C cloud micro-physical properties to
MODIS-TERRA derived cloud micro-physical properties for four selected regions
on the globe. The results show reasonable accuracies between the cloud micro-
physical retrievals. Biases are generally smallest for marine stratocumulus
clouds; −0.28, 0.41μm and −0.18 g m−2 for cloud optical thickness, effective
radius and cloud water path, respectively. This is also true for the root mean
square error. Also, both cloud top height products are compared to cloud top
heights derived from ground-based cloud radars located at several ARM sites.
FAME-C mostly shows an underestimation of cloud top heights when compared to
radar observations, which is partly attributed to the difficulty of accurate
cloud property retrievals for optically thin clouds and multi-layer clouds.
The bias is smallest, −0.9 km, for AATSR derived cloud top heights for single-
layer clouds
