Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review
Clouds play a key role in the Earth’s radiation budget, weather, and hydrological cycle, as well as the radiative and thermodynamic components of the climate system. Spaceborne observations are an essential tool to detect clouds, study cloud–radiation interactions, and explore their microphysical pr...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/337 |
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| author | Mariassunta Viggiano Domenico Cimini Maria Pia De Natale Francesco Di Paola Donatello Gallucci Salvatore Larosa Davide Marro Saverio Teodosio Nilo Filomena Romano |
| author_facet | Mariassunta Viggiano Domenico Cimini Maria Pia De Natale Francesco Di Paola Donatello Gallucci Salvatore Larosa Davide Marro Saverio Teodosio Nilo Filomena Romano |
| author_sort | Mariassunta Viggiano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Clouds play a key role in the Earth’s radiation budget, weather, and hydrological cycle, as well as the radiative and thermodynamic components of the climate system. Spaceborne observations are an essential tool to detect clouds, study cloud–radiation interactions, and explore their microphysical properties. Recent advancements in spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions of satellite-borne measurements and the increasing variety of orbits and observing geometries offer the opportunity for more efficient and sophisticated retrieval procedures, leading to the more accurate estimation of cloud parameters. However, despite the availability of near-coincident observations of the same atmospheric state, the synergy between the whole set of acquired information is still largely underexplored. The use of synergy is often invoked to optimize the exploitation of the available information, but it is rarely implemented. Indeed, the strategy currently used in most cases is that retrievals are performed separately for each instrument and, only later, the retrieved products are combined. In this framework, therefore, there is a strong need to study and exploit the synergy potential of the instruments currently in orbit or that will be put in orbit in the next few years. This paper reviews the efforts already made in this direction, combining passive infrared and microwave to retrieve cloud microphysical properties. We provide readers with a framework to interpret the state of the art, highlighting the pros and cons of the various approaches currently used with a look to the most promising methodologies to be deployed to address the challenges of this field. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fba54ca309814ae7a2be241748530dd7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-fba54ca309814ae7a2be241748530dd72025-01-24T13:48:10ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-01-0117233710.3390/rs17020337Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A ReviewMariassunta Viggiano0Domenico Cimini1Maria Pia De Natale2Francesco Di Paola3Donatello Gallucci4Salvatore Larosa5Davide Marro6Saverio Teodosio Nilo7Filomena Romano8National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, (CNR-IMAA), 85050 Tito, ItalyClouds play a key role in the Earth’s radiation budget, weather, and hydrological cycle, as well as the radiative and thermodynamic components of the climate system. Spaceborne observations are an essential tool to detect clouds, study cloud–radiation interactions, and explore their microphysical properties. Recent advancements in spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions of satellite-borne measurements and the increasing variety of orbits and observing geometries offer the opportunity for more efficient and sophisticated retrieval procedures, leading to the more accurate estimation of cloud parameters. However, despite the availability of near-coincident observations of the same atmospheric state, the synergy between the whole set of acquired information is still largely underexplored. The use of synergy is often invoked to optimize the exploitation of the available information, but it is rarely implemented. Indeed, the strategy currently used in most cases is that retrievals are performed separately for each instrument and, only later, the retrieved products are combined. In this framework, therefore, there is a strong need to study and exploit the synergy potential of the instruments currently in orbit or that will be put in orbit in the next few years. This paper reviews the efforts already made in this direction, combining passive infrared and microwave to retrieve cloud microphysical properties. We provide readers with a framework to interpret the state of the art, highlighting the pros and cons of the various approaches currently used with a look to the most promising methodologies to be deployed to address the challenges of this field.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/337satellite observationscloud propertiesinfraredmicrowave |
| spellingShingle | Mariassunta Viggiano Domenico Cimini Maria Pia De Natale Francesco Di Paola Donatello Gallucci Salvatore Larosa Davide Marro Saverio Teodosio Nilo Filomena Romano Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review Remote Sensing satellite observations cloud properties infrared microwave |
| title | Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review |
| title_full | Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review |
| title_short | Combining Passive Infrared and Microwave Satellite Observations to Investigate Cloud Microphysical Properties: A Review |
| title_sort | combining passive infrared and microwave satellite observations to investigate cloud microphysical properties a review |
| topic | satellite observations cloud properties infrared microwave |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/337 |
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