Effect of CALIPSO cloud–aerosol discrimination (CAD) confidence levels on observations of aerosol properties near clouds

CALIPSO aerosol backscatter enhancement in the transition zone between clouds and clear sky areas is revisited with particular attention to effects of data selection based on the confidence level of cloud–aerosol discrimination (CAD). The results show that backscatter behavior in the transition zone strongly depends on the CAD confidence level. Higher confidence level data has a flatter backscatter far away from clouds and a much sharper increase near clouds (within 4 km), thus a smaller transition zone. For high confidence level data it is shown that the overall backscatter enhancement is more pronounced for small clear-air segments and horizontally larger clouds. The results suggest that data selection based on CAD reduces the possible effects of cloud contamination when studying aerosol properties in the vicinity of clouds.

► Using high confidence CALIPSO aerosol data will affect observation results of near-cloud behaviors of lidar backscatters.
► Higher confidence level data shows sharper backscatter enhancement close to clouds, thus a smaller transition zone.
► Overall backscatter enhancement is more pronounced for small clear-air segments and horizontally large clouds.
► High confidence data reduces the effects of cloud contamination when studying aerosols near clouds.