Notes: Summary A method is presented to infer cloud liquid water path (LWP in kg/m2) over the ocean from passive microwave measurements of SSM/I. The algorithm to retrieve LWP is based on simulated satellite observations. They are calculated with a radiative transfer model applied to about 3000 radiosonde ascents over the Atlantic Ocean. Since radiosonde observations do not contain direct information about cloud water and ice, these parameters are parameterized based on relative humidity and temperature using modified adiabatic liquid water density profiles. A multiple linear regression is applied to the simulated radiances and the calculated LWP to derive the algorithm. The retrieval accuracy based on the regression analysis including instrumental noise is 0.03 kg/m2. Validation of the LWP-algorithm was pursued through a comparison with measurements of a ground-based 33 GHzmicrowave radiometer on board of R.V. “Poseidon” during the International Cirrus Experiment 1989 at the North Sea (ICE'89). The LWP values agree within the range of uncertainty caused by the different sampling characteristics of the observing systems. The retrieval accuracy for clear-sky cases determined using colocated METEOSAT data over the North Sea is 0.037 kg/m2 and confirms the accuracy estimated from regression analysis for the low liquid water cases. The algorithm was used to derive maps of monthly mean LWP over the Atlantic Ocean. As an example the Octobers of the 5 years 1987–1991 were selected to demonstrate the interannual variability of LWP. The results were compared with the cloud water content produced by the climate model ECHAM-T2 from the Max-Planck-Institut Hamburg. Observations during ICE'89 were used to check the accuracy of the applied radiative transfer model. Brightness temperatures were calculated from radiosonde ascents launched during the overpass of DMSP-F8 in cloud-free situations. The channel-dependent differences range from about −2 to 3 K. The possibility to identify different cloud types using microwave and infrared observations was examined. The main conclusion is that simultaneous microwave and infrared measurements enable the separation of dense cirrus and cirrus with underlying water clouds. A classification of clouds with respect to their top heights and LWP was carried out using a combination of SSM/I derived LWP and simultaneously recorded Meteosat IR-data during ICE'89.

Notes: Summary The regional atmospheric model REMO is used to study the energy and water exchange between surface and atmosphere over the Baltic Sea and its catchment area. As a prerequisite for such studies, the model has to be validated. A major part of such a validation is the comparison of simulation results with observational data. In this study the DX product of the International Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and precipitation measurements from 7775 rain gauge stations within the model domain are used for comparisons with the simulated cloud cover and precipitation fields, respectively. The observations are available in this high spatiotemporal resolution for June 1993. To quantify the comparisons of means, variability, and patterns of the data fields simple statistics are used and the significance of the results is determined with resampling methods (Pool Permutation Procedure and Bootstrap-t). The conclusion is that simulated and observed means of the fields are not different at the 5% significance level. The determined variability of the fields is also in good agreement except the space variability in cloud cover. Time mean and anomaly patterns are in good coincidence in case of the comparisons of cloud cover fields, but in reduced coincidence in case of precipitation.