Methods to Retrieve the Cloud-Top Height in the Frame of the JEM-EUSO Mission

Anzalone, A.; Bertaina, M.; Briz, S.; Cassardo, Claudio; Cremonini, R.; Castro, Antonio; Ferrarese, S.; Isgrò, Francesco; López, Fernando Martínez; Tabone, Ilaria

doi:10.1109/tgrs.2018.2854296

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Here, P c is the power of the cloud, from which T c and thus CTH, can be inferred. Other methods for reconstructing CTH can be found in [7].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

UCIRC2: An Infrared Cloud Monitor for EUSO-SPB2

Diesing¹

2019

Proceedings of 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2019)

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We describe the design and implementation of the University of Chicago Infrared Camera 2 (UCIRC2) built for monitoring cloud coverage during the EUSO-SPB2 flight (the second generation of the Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon). UCIRC2 uses two infrared (IR) cameras centered on 10µm and 12µm wavelengths to capture images of the clouds beneath EUSO-SPB2 in two bands spanning the thermal emission peak. Taken every minute, the IR images allow the determination of the height and coverage of clouds between the telescope and the ground. We discuss the design and construction of UCIRC2, including the techniques and design principles that make the module temperature and vacuum resilient. Additionally, we delineate the image reconstruction process and the pixel by pixel temperature calibration procedure. This paper will posit design and implementation suggestions for future ultra-high energy space telescopes.

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“…Here, P c is the power of the cloud, from which T c and thus CTH, can be inferred. Other methods for reconstructing CTH can be found in [7].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

UCIRC2: An Infrared Cloud Monitor for EUSO-SPB2

Diesing¹

2019

Proceedings of 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2019)

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“…by vertical thermal profiles [8] (see Figure 3). Usually standard atmospheric profiles or observed radiosoundings are applied, but the former provides an oversimplified vertical profile while the latter are available only few times per day.…”

Section: Pos(icrc2019)455mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Referring to [8] for all the details concerning the case-study and using the cloud fraction as index, better results are obtained with 50 vertical levels, the Morrison double-moment scheme for the microphysics, the New Goddard radiation scheme and the Milbrandt-Yamada-Nakanishi and Niino level 2.5 (MYNN 2.5) for the PBL scheme [5]. The performance of the WRF model are shown in Figure 4 and the Median and IQR are reported in Table 1, highlighting the improvement with respect to the previous work [8]. Table 1: Quality of WRF model through median and IQR values for the case reported in [8] PoS(ICRC2019)455…”

Section: Sensitivity Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A scheme of the method applied is reproduced in Figure 1. A first sensitivity test has been made by varying the number of vertical levels, the radiation and the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) schemes in order to investigate the response of the model [8]. The Cloud Top Pressure (CTP) retrieved is then compared to the one observed by satellite and the difference, pixel per pixel, of these two CTPs is an indication of the goodness of the model through the use of some statistical quantities, such as the median, expected to be as close as possible to zero, and the InterQuartile Range (IQR), a measure of the dispersion of the data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model and radiative methods for cloud top height retrieval along the EUSO-SPB1 trajectory

Vigorito¹,

Monte²,

Bertaina³

et al. 2019

Proceedings of 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2019)

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The Extreme Universe Space Observatory-Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB1) is a pathfinder of the JEM-EUSO program, which aims to observe Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) from near-space. It was launched from Wanaka (New Zealand) on April 25, 2017 UTC and was terminated after twelve days of flight in the South Pacific Ocean. A good knowledge of the atmospheric conditions and cloud properties, such as the Cloud Top Height (CTH), is fundamental to correctly reconstruct the energy and geometry of air showers produced by cosmic rays passing through the atmosphere. One of the methods used to retrieve the CTH is based on Numerical Weather Prediction models. In this work, we consider in particular the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. A first model test is made on the WRF parametrizations for elementary processes, applying a top-bottom directed algorithm based on two quantities: cloud fraction and optical depth. The validated procedure is then applied to the SPB1 trajectory, retrieving the CTH every ten minutes for the days of the flight. A comparison is made with the analyzed data taken from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images, once per day, to understand the reliability of the method. Another way to retrieve the CTH is the so-called radiative method, that allows to calculate the Cloud Top Temperature (CTT). A vertical temperature profile is needed to transform the CTT into CTH. When radiosoundings are not available, WRF can provide vertical temperature profiles. The conversion from the CTT to the CTH is then made.

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“…The camera system sometime did not work as expected, however a quantity of data that were not calibrated and shoot mostly in daytime, are available. In general starting from cloud temperature data, several methods can be used [3], [4] to reconstruct the cloud coverage information and the cloud top height of the cloudy pixels. In the following sections we present the preliminary results of a method applied to the available images, to map the cloudiness in the IR camera FoV, despite several issues affecting the data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%