AN ITERATIVE ALGORITHM FOR THE RETRIEVAL OF CLOUD PROPERTIES FROM NOAA-AVHRR IMAGERY

In the visible spectral region, cloud reflection function depends mainly on the cloud optical thickness. In the near infrared and middle infrared spectral region, the cloud reflection function depends mainly on the cloud particleef fective radius. Based on this consideration, we developed an iterative algorithm for the retrieval of cloud properties from NOAA-AVHRR imagery. The algorithm was applied to analyze the radiative properties of stratocumulus over East China Sea. The results indicated that the iterative algorithm has a reasonable accuracy.