From CloudSat-CALIPSO to EarthCare: Evolution of the DARDAR cloud classification and its comparison to airborne radar-lidar observations

This paper presents the implementation of a new version of the DARDAR (radar lidar) classification derived from CloudSat and CALIPSO data. The resulting target classification called DARDAR v2 is compared to the first version called DARDAR v1. Overall DARDAR v1 reports more cloud or rain pixels than DARDAR v2. In the low troposphere this is because v1 detects too many liquid cloud pixels, and in the higher troposphere this is because v2 is more restrictive in lidar detection than v1. Nevertheless, the spatial distribution of different types of hydrometeors show similar patterns in both classifications. The French airborne Radar-Lidar (RALI) platform carries a CloudSat/CALIPSO instrument configuration (lidar at a wavelength of 532 nm and a 95 GHz cloud radar) as well as an EarthCare instrument configuration (high spectral resolution lidar at 355 nm and a 95 GHz Doppler cloud radar). It therefore represents an ideal go-between for A-Train and EarthCare. The DARDAR v2 classification algorithm is adapted to RALI data for A-Train overpasses during dedicated airborne field experiments using the lidar at 532 nm and the radar Doppler measurements. The results from the RALI classification are compared with the DARDAR v2 classification to identify where the classification should still be interpreted with caution. Finally, the RALI classification algorithm with lidar at 532 nm is adapted to RALI with high spectral resolution lidar data at 355nm in preparation for EarthCare.