Three-dimensional Cloud Structure Construction with Fractal Modulation on Actual Measurement

A construction method with fractal modulation on actual measurement is proposed to construct three-dimensional cloud structure at specific space-time as well as considering the fractal characteristics. Cloud top height (CTH) and cloud base height (CBH) of recipient pixels are estimated by modulating measurement data with fractal scene of each common type. For recipient pixels without common types, its CBH is resolved by distance-weighted CBH on maximum or few donors whereas its CTH is assigned with the retrieved CTH of the passive sensor. Data from Cloud profile radar (CPR) on CloudSat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua are chosen to validate the proposed strategy. The estimated MODIS CBH and CTH cross section along the corresponding CPR track is presented and compared with that of CPR, resulting in satisfactory coincidence with the boundary of clouds.