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Braun RA, McComiskey A, Tselioudis G, Tropf D, Sorooshian A. Cloud, Aerosol, and Radiative Properties Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2021; 126:e2020JD034113. [PMID: 34377622 PMCID: PMC8350933 DOI: 10.1029/2020jd034113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the atmospheric properties of weather states (WSs) derived from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project over the Western North Atlantic Ocean. In particular, radiation and aerosol data corresponding to two sites in the study domain, Pennsylvania State University and Bermuda, were examined to characterize the atmospheric properties of the various satellite-derived WSs. At both sites, the fair weather WS was most prevalent, followed by the cirrus WS. Differences in the seasonality of the various WSs were observed at the two sites. Fractional sky cover and effective shortwave cloud transmissivity derived from ground-based radiation measurements were able to capture differences among the satellite-derived WSs. Speciated aerosol optical thicknesses (AOT) from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 were used to investigate potential differences in aerosol properties among the WSs. The clear sky WS exhibited below-average seasonal values of AOT at both sites year-round, as well as relatively high rates of occurrence with low AOT events. In addition, the clear sky WS showed above-average contributions from dust and black carbon to the total AOT year-round. Finally, transitions between various WSs were examined under low, high, and midrange AOT conditions. The most common pathway was for the WSs to remain in the same state after a 3 h interval. Some WSs, such as mid latitude storms, deep convection, middle top, and shallow cumulus, were more prevalent as ending states under high AOT conditions. This work motivates examining differences in aerosol properties between WSs in other regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A Braun
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Now at Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | | | - Derek Tropf
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY, USA
| | - Armin Sorooshian
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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2
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Jin D, Oreopoulos L, Lee D, Tan J, Kim KM. Large-scale Characteristics of Tropical Convective Systems through the Prism of Cloud Regime. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2020; 125:10.1029/2019JD031157. [PMID: 32550098 PMCID: PMC7299438 DOI: 10.1029/2019jd031157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We employ the Cloud Regime (CR) concept to identify large-scale tropical convective systems and investigate their characteristics in terms of organization and precipitation. The tropical CRs (TCRs) are derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Cloud Optical Thickness (COT) and Cloud Top Pressure (CTP) two-dimensional joint histograms. We focus on the TCRs that have relatively low CTPs and high COTs, as well as heavy precipitation, namely TCR1 (convective core-dominant), TCR2 (various high clouds), and TCR3 (anvils). The horizontal size of aggregates of TCR1, 2, or 3 occurrences (TCR123) is identified as the number of contiguous 1°×1° grid cells occupied by either of these three TCRs. For the small to intermediate size aggregates (TCR123 size 20 to 160 one-degree grid cells), there is large variability in the fraction of the aggregate each TCR occupies, but generally TCR2 exhibits the highest fraction. As the total system size grows, the variability shrinks and for the largest systems ratios eventually converge to 0.3, 0.2, and 0.5 for TCR1, 2, and 3, respectively. The mean precipitation of convective core-rich TCR1 is generally high for the systems of intermediate size (80-160 one-degree grid cells), but with the highest mean coming from smaller systems of 20-40 grid cells. For the largest systems, their mean precipitation in areas containing cores (TCR1) are relatively low with suppressed variation. The mean precipitation rates of TCR2 and TCR3 in a TCR123 aggregate tend to be stronger when accompanying TCR1 mean precipitation rate is also high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daeho Jin
- Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - Dongmin Lee
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Morgan State University, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Jackson Tan
- Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Kyu-myong Kim
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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3
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Bellouin N, Quaas J, Gryspeerdt E, Kinne S, Stier P, Watson‐Parris D, Boucher O, Carslaw KS, Christensen M, Daniau A, Dufresne J, Feingold G, Fiedler S, Forster P, Gettelman A, Haywood JM, Lohmann U, Malavelle F, Mauritsen T, McCoy DT, Myhre G, Mülmenstädt J, Neubauer D, Possner A, Rugenstein M, Sato Y, Schulz M, Schwartz SE, Sourdeval O, Storelvmo T, Toll V, Winker D, Stevens B. Bounding Global Aerosol Radiative Forcing of Climate Change. REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS (WASHINGTON, D.C. : 1985) 2020; 58:e2019RG000660. [PMID: 32734279 PMCID: PMC7384191 DOI: 10.1029/2019rg000660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Aerosols interact with radiation and clouds. Substantial progress made over the past 40 years in observing, understanding, and modeling these processes helped quantify the imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget caused by anthropogenic aerosols, called aerosol radiative forcing, but uncertainties remain large. This review provides a new range of aerosol radiative forcing over the industrial era based on multiple, traceable, and arguable lines of evidence, including modeling approaches, theoretical considerations, and observations. Improved understanding of aerosol absorption and the causes of trends in surface radiative fluxes constrain the forcing from aerosol-radiation interactions. A robust theoretical foundation and convincing evidence constrain the forcing caused by aerosol-driven increases in liquid cloud droplet number concentration. However, the influence of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud liquid water content and cloud fraction is less clear, and the influence on mixed-phase and ice clouds remains poorly constrained. Observed changes in surface temperature and radiative fluxes provide additional constraints. These multiple lines of evidence lead to a 68% confidence interval for the total aerosol effective radiative forcing of -1.6 to -0.6 W m-2, or -2.0 to -0.4 W m-2 with a 90% likelihood. Those intervals are of similar width to the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment but shifted toward more negative values. The uncertainty will narrow in the future by continuing to critically combine multiple lines of evidence, especially those addressing industrial-era changes in aerosol sources and aerosol effects on liquid cloud amount and on ice clouds.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. Bellouin
- Department of MeteorologyUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
| | - J. Quaas
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - E. Gryspeerdt
- Space and Atmospheric Physics GroupImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - S. Kinne
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
| | - P. Stier
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - D. Watson‐Parris
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - O. Boucher
- Institut Pierre‐Simon Laplace, Sorbonne Université/CNRSParisFrance
| | - K. S. Carslaw
- School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - M. Christensen
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - A.‐L. Daniau
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS‐Université de BordeauxPessacFrance
| | - J.‐L. Dufresne
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique/IPSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Ecole PolytechniqueParisFrance
| | - G. Feingold
- NOAA ESRL Chemical Sciences DivisionBoulderCOUSA
| | - S. Fiedler
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
- Now at Institut für Geophysik und MeteorologieUniversität zu KölnKölnGermany
| | - P. Forster
- Priestley International Centre for ClimateUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - A. Gettelman
- National Center for Atmospheric ResearchBoulderCOUSA
| | - J. M. Haywood
- CEMPSUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- UK Met Office Hadley CentreExeterUK
| | - U. Lohmann
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
| | | | - T. Mauritsen
- Department of MeteorologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - D. T. McCoy
- School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - G. Myhre
- Center for International Climate and Environmental Research‐Oslo (CICERO)OsloNorway
| | - J. Mülmenstädt
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - D. Neubauer
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
| | - A. Possner
- Department of Global EcologyCarnegie Institution for ScienceStanfordCAUSA
- Now at Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental SciencesGoethe UniversityFrankfurtGermany
| | | | - Y. Sato
- Department of Applied Energy, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya UniversityNagoyaJapan
- Now at Faculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - M. Schulz
- Climate Modelling and Air Pollution Section, Research and Development DepartmentNorwegian Meteorological InstituteOsloNorway
| | - S. E. Schwartz
- Brookhaven National Laboratory Environmental and Climate Sciences DepartmentUptonNYUSA
| | - O. Sourdeval
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Laboratoire d'Optique AtmosphériqueUniversité de LilleVilleneuve d'AscqFrance
| | - T. Storelvmo
- Department of GeosciencesUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - V. Toll
- Department of MeteorologyUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
- Now at Institute of PhysicsUniversity of TartuTartuEstonia
| | - D. Winker
- NASA Langley Research CenterHamptonVAUSA
| | - B. Stevens
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
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Jin D, Oreopoulos L, Lee D, Cho N, Tan J. Contrasting the co-variability of daytime cloud and precipitation over tropical land and ocean. ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 2018; 18:3065-3082. [PMID: 32661461 PMCID: PMC7356930 DOI: 10.5194/acp-18-3065-2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The co-variability of cloud and precipitation in the extended tropics (35°N-35°S) is investigated using contemporaneous data sets for a 13-year period. The goal is to quantify potential relationships between cloud type fractions and precipitation events of particular strength. Particular attention is paid to whether the relationships exhibit different characteristics over tropical land and ocean. A primary analysis metric is the correlation coefficient between fractions of individual cloud types and frequencies within precipitation histogram bins that have been matched in time and space. The cloud type fractions are derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) joint histograms of cloud top pressure and cloud optical thickness in 1°grid cells, and the precipitation frequencies come from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) data set aggregated to the same grid. It is found that the strongest coupling (positive correlation) between clouds and precipitation occurs over ocean for cumulonimbus clouds and the heaviest rainfall. While the same cloud type and rainfall bin are also best correlated over land compared to other combinations, the correlation magnitude is weaker than over ocean. The difference is attributed to the greater size of convective systems over ocean. It is also found that both over ocean and land the anti-correlation of strong precipitation with "weak" (i.e., thin and/or low) cloud types is of greater absolute strength than positive correlations between weak cloud types and weak precipitation. Cloud type co-occurrence relationships explain some of the cloud-precipitation anti-correlations. Weak correlations between weaker rainfall and clouds indicate poor predictability for precipitation when cloud types are known, and this is even more true over land than over ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daeho Jin
- University Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - Dongmin Lee
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Morgan State University, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Nayeong Cho
- University Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Jackson Tan
- University Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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5
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Malavelle FF, Haywood JM, Jones A, Gettelman A, Clarisse L, Bauduin S, Allan RP, Karset IHH, Kristjánsson JE, Oreopoulos L, Cho N, Lee D, Bellouin N, Boucher O, Grosvenor DP, Carslaw KS, Dhomse S, Mann GW, Schmidt A, Coe H, Hartley ME, Dalvi M, Hill AA, Johnson BT, Johnson CE, Knight JR, O'Connor FM, Partridge DG, Stier P, Myhre G, Platnick S, Stephens GL, Takahashi H, Thordarson T. Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions. Nature 2017. [PMID: 28640263 DOI: 10.1038/nature22974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets-consistent with expectations-but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties. The reduction in droplet size led to cloud brightening and global-mean radiative forcing of around -0.2 watts per square metre for September to October 2014. Changes in cloud amount or cloud liquid water path, however, were undetectable, indicating that these indirect effects, and cloud systems in general, are well buffered against aerosol changes. This result will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections, because we are now able to reject results from climate models with an excessive liquid-water-path response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent F Malavelle
- College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jim M Haywood
- College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Andrew Gettelman
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Lieven Clarisse
- Chimie Quantique et Photophysique CP160/09, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Sophie Bauduin
- Chimie Quantique et Photophysique CP160/09, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Richard P Allan
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK.,National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | | | | | | | - Nayeong Cho
- Earth Sciences Division, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA.,USRA, Columbia, Maryland, USA
| | - Dongmin Lee
- Earth Sciences Division, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA.,Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Olivier Boucher
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, IPSL, UPMC/CNRS, Jussieu, France
| | | | - Ken S Carslaw
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Sandip Dhomse
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Graham W Mann
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Anja Schmidt
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Hugh Coe
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Margaret E Hartley
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Daniel G Partridge
- Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.,Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.,Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Philip Stier
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Gunnar Myhre
- Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo, Norway
| | - Steven Platnick
- Earth Sciences Division, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Graeme L Stephens
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Hanii Takahashi
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.,Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Oreopoulos L, Cho N, Lee D. New Insights about Cloud Vertical Structure from CloudSat and CALIPSO observations. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2017; 122:9280-9300. [PMID: 29576993 PMCID: PMC5863737 DOI: 10.1002/2017jd026629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Active cloud observations from A-Train's CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites offer new opportunities to examine the vertical structure of hydrometeor layers. We use the 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR merged CloudSat-CALIPSO product to examine global aspects of hydrometeor vertical stratification. We group the data into major Cloud Vertical Structure (CVS) classes based on our interpretation of how clouds in three standard atmospheric layers overlap, and provide their global frequency of occurrence. The two most frequent CVS classes are single-layer (per our definition) low and high clouds which represent ~53% of cloudy skies, followed by high clouds overlying low clouds, and vertically extensive clouds that occupy near-contiguously a large portion of the troposphere. The prevalence of these configurations changes seasonally and geographically, between daytime and nighttime, and between continents and oceans. The radiative effects of the CVS classes reveal the major radiative warmers and coolers from the perspective of the planet as a whole, the surface, and the atmosphere. Single-layer low clouds dominate planetary and atmospheric cooling, and thermal infrared surface warming. We also investigate the consistency between passive and active views of clouds by providing the CVS breakdowns of MODIS cloud regimes for spatiotemporally coincident MODIS-Aqua (also on the A-Train) and CloudSat-CALIPSO daytime observations. When the analysis is expanded for a more in-depth look at the most heterogeneous of the MODIS cloud regimes, it ultimately confirms previous interpretations of their makeup that did not have the benefit of collocated active observations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nayeong Cho
- NASA-GSFC, Earth Science Division, Greenbelt MD 20771 USA
- USRA, Columbia, MD 21044 USA
| | - Dongmin Lee
- NASA-GSFC, Earth Science Division, Greenbelt MD 20771 USA
- Morgan State University, Baltimore MD 21251 USA
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Oreopoulos L, Cho N, Lee D. Using MODIS Cloud Regimes to Sort Diagnostic Signals of Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2017; 122:5416-5440. [PMID: 29651373 PMCID: PMC5891332 DOI: 10.1002/2016jd026120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Coincident multi-year measurements of aerosol, cloud, precipitation and radiation at near-global scales are analyzed to diagnose their apparent relationships as suggestive of interactions previously proposed based on theoretical, observational, and model constructs. Specifically, we examine whether differences in aerosol loading in separate observations go along with consistently different precipitation, cloud properties, and cloud radiative effects. Our analysis uses a cloud regime (CR) framework to dissect and sort the results. The CRs come from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor and are defined as distinct groups of cloud systems with similar co-variations of cloud top pressure and cloud optical thickness. Aerosol optical depth used as proxy for aerosol loading comes from two sources, MODIS observations, and the MERRA-2 re-analysis, and its variability is defined with respect to local seasonal climatologies. The choice of aerosol dataset impacts our results substantially. We also find that the responses of the marine and continental component of a CR are frequently quite disparate. Overall, CRs dominated by warm clouds tend to exhibit less ambiguous signals, but also have more uncertainty with regard to precipitation changes. Finally, we find weak, but occasionally systematic co-variations of select meteorological indicators and aerosol, which serves as a sober reminder that ascribing changes in cloud and cloud-affected variables solely to aerosol variations is precarious.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nayeong Cho
- NASA-GSFC, Earth Science Division, Greenbelt MD 20771 USA
- USRA, Columbia, MD 21044 USA
| | - Dongmin Lee
- NASA-GSFC, Earth Science Division, Greenbelt MD 20771 USA
- Morgan State University, Baltimore MD 21251 USA
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