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Naud, Catherine, Bryan Baum, Ralf Bennarzt, Juergen Fischer, Richard Frey, Paul Menzel, Jan-Peter Muller, Rene Preusker, and Hong Zhang ((2003). Inter-comparison of MERIS, MODIS and MISR cloud top heights. Proceedings of the MERIS User Workshop. Session 2, 10-13 November 2003. ESA, ERIN, Frascati, Italy.


The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of MERIS cloud top pressures through an inter-comparison with CO2-slicing MODIS cloud top pressures and stereo MISR cloud top heights, both instruments of which are onboard the NASA-TERRA platform. For ground-based “truth” measurements, millimetre wavelength cloud radars data were used at the ARM SGP and UK Chilbolton sites. Cloud top pressures were transformed into heights using ECMWF
Operational analysis profiles. An excellent agreement was found between MERIS, MISR and the radar cloud top heights when single opaque clouds were present. When clouds were optically thin, MERIS cloud top pressure retrievals were not available and when more than one cloud layer was present, MERIS CTH often referred to the lowest cloud top or some altitude between cloud layers. MISR cloud top heights referred to low clouds in multiple layers conditions, due
to their higher contrast, and MODIS CTHs were found too low for low clouds, slightly too high for mid-level clouds and within the cloud extent or near the top of high clouds.


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Updated: 20-Sep-2004