Climate

On global changes in effective cloud height

  1. Amato T. Evan*,
  2. Joel R. Norris

Article first published online: 6 OCT 2012

DOI: 10.1029/2012GL053171

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume 39, Issue 19, 16 October 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Evan, A. T., and J. R. Norris (2012), On global changes in effective cloud height, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19710, doi:10.1029/2012GL053171.

Author Information

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

*Corresponding author: A. T. Evan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. (aevan@ucsd.edu)

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 6 OCT 2012
  2. Article first published online: 6 OCT 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 1 SEP 2012
  4. Manuscript Revised: 28 AUG 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 25 JUL 2012

Funded by

  • NOAA Climate Program Office. Grant Numbers: NA10OAR4310140 , NA10OAR4310141

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Keywords:

  • climate;
  • clouds

[1] Measurements by the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument exhibit a decreasing trend in global mean effective cloud top height (2000–2011). Here we show that this trend is likely related to an artifact in the data present during the early years of the MISR mission that caused a systematic reduction in the number of retrievals of clouds at lower elevations relative to clouds at higher elevations. After the application of a post-hoc method for removing the bias associated with missing retrievals the MISR effective cloud height anomalies exhibit a positive trend over time.

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