Overlap of fractional cloud for radiation calculations in GCMs: A global analysis using CloudSat and CALIPSO data

Assumptions made by global climate models (GCMs) regarding vertical overlap of fractional amounts of clouds have significant impacts on simulated radiation budgets. A global survey of fractional cloud overlap properties was performed using 2 months of cloud mask data derived from CloudSat‐CALIPSO satellite measurements. Cloud overlap was diagnosed as a combination of maximum and random overlap and characterized by vertically constant …