For more than 40 years, polar-orbiting satellites have been providing data for global environmental monitoring, benefit-ting both civilian and military communities through timely weather forecasting and improved situational awareness. Satellite data also have supported aviation and search-and-rescue missions and have advanced the understanding and prediction of changes in the Earth's environmen...

The cloud thermodynamic phase is a crucial parameter to understand the Earth’s radiation budget, hydrological cycle, and atmospheric processes. Spaceborne active remote sensing such as synergistic radar-lidar DARDAR product considered most reliable method determine phase; however, it lacks large-scale observations high repetition rates. These can be provided by passive instruments SEVIRI aboard...

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Sampling retrievals of high-accuracy first-moment statistics constitute a central concern for climate research. Considered here is the important case of brightness temperature retrievals from a selection of possible orbits. Three-hourly global satellite brightness temperature data are used to predict the sampling error of monthly to annual mean brightness temperature retrieved by one or more sa...