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NASA NTRS2009

Evaluation of Low Altitude Cloud Amount Using CALIPSO Observations

Clouds strongly modulate the transfer of solar and thermal radiation within the atmosphere. Changes in the distribution and properties of clouds in a changing climate represent climate feedbacks affecting climate sensitivity, but the predicted responses of clouds from current climate models are inconsistent. Of particular concern is the response of low clouds, and it is recognized that proper representation of low clouds in global models is in need of improvement. Accurate satellite cloud climatologies are necessary to evaluate model performance, but existing climatologies require validation and are inadequate in some respects for model evaluation. CALIPSO and CloudSat have been acquiring high vertical resolution cloud profiles since launch in 2006. These global cloud datasets represent a new tool for evaluation of both models and existing satellite climatologies. While a recently available merged CALIPSO-CloudSat cloud climatology provides the most comprehensive view of global 3-D cloud distribution, the CALIPSO dataset set on its own has several unique characteristics, including profiles of the atmospheric boundary layer with 30 meter vertical resolution. In this paper we investigate the use of CALIPSO data to characterize boundary layer clouds, looking toward the development of a reliable global dataset suitable for evaluation of model performance.

Winker, Dave↗
NASA NTRS1989

Cloud cover determination in polar regions from satellite imagery

The objectives are to develop a suitable validation data set for evaluating the effectiveness of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) algorithm for cloud retrieval in polar regions, to identify limitations of current procedures and to explore potential means to remedy them using textural classifiers, and to compare synoptic cloud data from model runs with observations. Toward the first goal, a polar data set consisting of visible, thermal, and passive microwave data was developed. The AVHRR and SMMR data were digitally merged to a polar stereographic projection with an effective pixel size of 5 sq km. With this data set, two unconventional methods of classifying the imagery for the analysis of polar clouds and surfaces were examined: one based on fuzzy sets theory and another based on a trained neural network. An algorithm for cloud detection was developed from an early test version of the ISCCP algorithm. This algorithm includes the identification of surface types with passive microwave, then temporal tests at each pixel location in the cloud detection phase. Cloud maps and clear sky radiance composites for 5 day periods are produced. Algorithm testing and validation was done with both actural AVHRR/SMMR data, and simulated imagery. From this point in the algorithm, groups of cloud pixels are examined for their spectral and textural characteristics, and a procedure is developed for the analysis of cloud patterns utilizing albedo, IR temperature, and texture. In a completion of earlier work, empirical analyses of arctic cloud cover were explored through manual interpretations of DMSP imagery and compared to U.S. Air Force 3D-nephanalysis. Comparisons of observed cloudiness from existing climatologies to patterns computed by the GISS climate model were also made.

Barry, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Satellite Studies of Cirrus Clouds for Project Fire

Examine global cloud climatologies for evidence of human caused changes in cloud cover and their effect on the Earth's heat budget through radiative processes. Quantify climatological changes in global cloud cover and estimate their effect on the Earth's heat budget. Improve our knowledge of global cloud cover and its changes through the merging of several satellite data sets.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

Cirrus cloud properties derived from coincident GOES and lidar data during the 1986 FIRE Cirrus Intensive Field Observations (IFO)

One of the main difficulties in detecting cirrus clouds and determining their correct altitude using satellite measurements is their nonblackness. In the present algorithm (Rossow et al., 1985) used by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), the cirrus cloud emissivity is estimated from the derived cloud reflectance using a theoretical model relating visible (VIS, 0.65 micron) optical depth to infrared (IR, 10.5 micron) emissivity. At this time, it is unknown how accurate this approach is or how the derived cloud altitude relates to the physical properties of the cloud. The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) presents opportunities for determining how the observed radiances depend on the cloud properties. During the FIRE Cirrus Intensive Field Observations (IFO, see Starr, 1987), time series of cloud thickness, height, and relative optical densities were measured from several surface-based lidars. Cloud microphysics and radiances at various wavelengths were also measured simultaneously over these sites from aircraft at specific times during the IFO (October 19 to November 2, 1986). Satellite-observed radiances taken simultaneously can be matched with these data to determine their relationships to the cirrus characteristics. The first step is taken toward relating all of these variables to the satellite observations. Lidar-derived cloud heights are used to determine cloud temperatures which are used to estimate cloud emissivities from the satellite IR radiances. These results are then correlated to the observed VIS reflectances for various solar zenith angles.

Minnis, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Study of the Role of Clouds in the Relationship Between Land Use/Land Cover and the Climate and Air Quality of the Atlanta Area

The goal of Project ATLANTA is to derive a better scientific understanding of how land cover changes associated with urbanization affect local and regional climate and air quality. Clouds play a significant role in this relationship. Using GOES images, we found that in a 63-day period (5 July-5 September 1996) there were zero days which were clear for the entire daylight period. Days which are cloud-free in the morning become partly cloudy with small cumulus clouds in the afternoon in response to solar heating. This result casts doubt on the applicability of California-style air quality models which run in perpetual clear skies. Days which are clear in the morning have higher ozone than those which are cloudy in the morning. Using the RAMS model, we found that urbanization increases the skin surface temperature by about 1.0-1.5 C on average under cloudy conditions, with an extreme of +3.5 C. Clouds cool the surface due to their shading effect by 1.5-2.0 C on average, with an extreme of 5.0 C. RAMS simulates well the building stage of the cumulus cloud field, but does poorly in the decaying phase. Next year's work: doing a detailed cloud climatology and developing improved RAMS cloud simulations.

Kidder, Stanley Q.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Observations of the Global Characteristics and Regional Radiative Effects of Marine Cloud Liquid Water

The large-scale spatial distribution and temporal variability of cloud liquid water path (LWP) over the world's oceans and the relationship of cloud LWP to temperature and the radiation budget are investigated using recent satellite measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). Observations of cloud liquid water on a 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg and are used over a 53-month period beginning July 1987 and ending in December 1991. The highest values of cloud liquid water (greater than 0.13 kg/sq m) occur largely along principal routes of northern midlatitude storms and in areas dominated by tropical convection. The zonally averaged structure is distinctly trimodal, where maxima appear in the midlatitudes and near the equator. The average marine cloud LWP over the globe is estimated to be about 0.113 kg/sq m. Its highest seasonal variability is typically between 15% and 25% of the annual mean but in certain locations can exceed 30%. Comparisons of cloud LWP to temperature for low clouds during JJA and DJF of 1990 show significant positive correlations at colder temperatures and negative correlations at warmer temperatures. The correlations also exhibit strong seasonal and regional variation. Coincident and collocated observations of cloud LWP from the SSM/I and albedo measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and the NOAA-10 satellite are compared for low clouds in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. The observed albedo-LWP relationships correspond reasonably well with theory, where the average cloud effective radius (r(sub e)) is 11.1 microns and the standard deviation is 5.2 microns. The large variability in the inferred values of r(sub e) suggests that other factors may be important in the albedo-LWP relationships. In terms of the effect of the LWP on the net cloud forcing, the authors find that a 0.05 kg/sq m increase in LWP (for LWP less than 0.2 kg/sq m) results in a -25 W/sq m change in the net cloud forcing at a solar zenith angle of 75 deg.

Greenwald, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Satellite-Derived Cloud and Surface Characteristics During FIRE-ACE

Advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) products calculated for the western Arctic for April-July 1998 are used to investigate spatial, temporal, and regional patterns and variability in energy budget parameters associated with ocean- ice-atmosphere interactions over the Arctic Ocean during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project and the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment - Arctic Cloud Experiment (FIRE-ACE). The AVHRR-derived parameters include cloud fraction, clear-sky and all-sky skin temperature and broadband albedo, upwelling and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, cloud top pressure and temperature, and cloud optical depth. The remotely sensed products generally agree well with field observations at the SHEBA site, which in turn is shown to be representative of a surrounding region comparable in size to a climate-model grid cell. Time series of products for other locations in the western Arctic illustrate the magnitude of spatial variability during the study period and provide spatial and temporal detail useful for studying regional processes. The data illustrate the progression of reduction in cloud cover, albedo decrease, and the considerable heating of the open ocean associated with the anomalous decrease in sea ice cover in the eastern Beaufort Sea that began in late spring. Above-freezing temperatures are also recorded within the ice pack, suggesting warming of the open water areas within the ice cover.

Maslanik, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Role of Clear Sky Identification in the Study of Cloud Radiative Effects: Combine Analysis from ISCCP and the Scanner of Radiation Budget (ScaRaB)

Since the effect of clouds on the earth's radiation balance is often estimated as the difference of net radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere between all situations and monthly averaged clear sky situations of the same regions, a reliable identification of clear sky is important for the study of cloud radiative effects. The Scanner for Radiation Balance (ScaRaB) radiometer on board the Russian Meteor-3/7 satellite provided earth radiation budget observations from March 1994 to February 1995 with two ERBE-Re broad-band longwave and shortwave channels. Two narrow-band channels, in the infrared atmospheric window and in the visible band, have been added to the ScaRaB instrument to improve the cloud scene identification. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) method for cloud detection and determination of cloud and surface properties uses the same narrow-band channels as ScaRaB, but is employed to a collection of measurements at a better spatial resolution of about 5 km. By applying the original ISCCP algorithms to the ScaRaB data, the clear sky frequency is about 5% lower than the one over quasi-simultaneous original ISCCP data, an indication that the ISCCP cloud detection is quite stable. However, one would expect an about 10 to 20% smaller clear sky occurrence over the larger ScaRaB pixels. Adapting the ISCCP algorithms to the reduced spatial resolution of 60 km and to the different time sampling of the ScaRaB data leads therefore to a reduction of a residual cloud contamination. A sensitivity study with time-space collocated ScaRaB and original ISCCP data at a spatial resolution of 1deg longitude x 1deg latitude shows that the effect of clear sky identification method plays a higher role on the clear sky frequency and therefore on the statistics than on the zonal mean values of the clear sky fluxes. Nevertheless, the zonal outgoing longwave fluxes corresponding to ERBE clear sky are in general about 2 to 10 W/sq m higher than those obtained from the ScaRaB adapted ISCCP clear sky identifications. The latter are close to (about 1 W/sq m higher) fluxes corresponding to clear sky regions from original ISCCP data, whereas ScaRaB clear sky LW fluxes obtained with the original ISCCP identification lie about 1 to 2 W/sq m below. Especially in the tropics where water vapor abundance is high, the ERBE clear sky LW fluxes seem to be systematically overestimated by about 4 W/sq m, and SW fluxes are lower by about 5 to 10 W/sq m. However, the uncertainty in the analysis of monthly mean zonal cloud radiative effects is also produced by the low frequency of clear sky occurrence, illustrated when averaging over pixels or even over regions of 4deg longitude x 5deg latitude, corresponding to the spatial resolution of General Circulation Models. The systematic bias in the clear sky fluxes is not reflected in the zonal cloud radiative effects, because the clear sky regions selected by the different algorithms can occur in different geographic regions with different cloud properties.

Rossow, W. B.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Radiation Budget

The Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) data sets contain global 3-hourly, daily and monthly averages of surface longwave and shortwave radiative properties, cloud amount, and meteorological properties computed using models. The main input data for these models include cloud information, top-of-atmosphere radiances and profiles of atmospheric water vapor and temperature. Some of the input data include Earth Radiation Budget Energy (ERBE) top-of-atmosphere clear-sky albedo and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) radiances and cloud amount. SRB parameters derived for the renewable energy community are also available from the Surface meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE) data set. Other SRB data are available from Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). [Mission Objectives] The objective of the SRB Project is to produce and archive a global data set of shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) surface and top of the atmosphere parameters. The data generated in the SRB project may be used in conjunction with other data sets to facilitate the development of renewable energy resources and increase understanding of radiative properties within the meteorological community. [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1983-07-01; Stop_Date=2005-06-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180].

Stackhouse, Paul W.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Calculation of top-of-atmosphere, surface and atmospheric cloud radiative kernels and feedbacks based on ISCCP-H datasets

This study aims to create observation-based cloud radiative kernel (CRK) datasets and evaluate them by direct comparison of CRK and the CRK-derived cloud feedback datasets. Based on the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) H datasets, we calculate CRKs (called FH CRKs) as 2D joint function/histogram of cloud optical depth and cloud top pressure for shortwave, longwave, and their sum, Net, at the top of atmosphere (TOA), as well as, for the first time, at the surface (SFC) and in the atmosphere (ATM). The direct comparison shows that FH agrees reasonably well with three other TOA CRK datasets. With cloud fraction change (CFC) datasets of the same histogram for doubled-CO2 simulation from 10 CFMIP1 models, we derive all the TOA, SFC and ATM cloud feedback using the FH CRKs. Our TOA cloud feedback is highly similar to the previous counterparts. Based on the comparison for the 4 CRK datasets and the 10 CFC datasets, we estimate the uncertainty budget for the CRK-derived cloud feedback and show that the CFC-associated uncertainty contributes > 98.5% of the total cloud feedback uncertainty while CRK’s is very small. Our preliminary evaluation shows that some near-zero/small cloud feedback in the TOA-alone feedback indeed results from the compensation of sizable cloud feedback of the SFC and ATM feedback, demonstrating that they help reveal some significant surface and atmospheric cloud feedback whose sum appears insignificant in TOA-alone feedback

cloud radiative kernel (CRK) datasets↗
NASA NTRS1988

Cloud cover determination in polar regions from satellite imagery

The principal objectives of this project are: (1) to develop suitable validation data sets to evaluate the effectiveness of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) operational algorithm for cloud retrieval in polar regions and to validate model simulations of polar cloud cover; (2) to identify limitations of current procedures for varying atmospheric surface conditions, and to explore potential means to remedy them using textural classifiers; and (3) to compare synoptic cloud data from a control run experiment of the GISS climate model II with typical observed synoptic cloud patterns.

Barry, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

ERBE and AVHRR Cirrus cloud fire study

Understanding the impact of cirrus clouds on the global radiation budget is essential to determining the role of clouds in the process of climate change. The ongoing Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) is charged with measuring the global radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) is measuring global cloud amounts and properties over a time frame similar to ERBE. Specific cloud properties are absent from the ERBE program, while ISCCP lacks the broadband radiances necessary to determine the total radiation fields. Together, results from these two global programs have the potential for improving the knowledge of the relationship between cirrus clouds and the Earth radiation balance. The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE), especially its cirrus Intensive Field Observations (IFO), provides opportunities for studying radiation measurements from the ERBE taken over areas with known cirrus cloud properties. Satellite measurements taken during the IFO are used to determine the broadband radiation fields over cirrus clouds and to examine the relationship between narrowband and broadband radiances over various known scenes. The latter constitutes the link between the ERBE and the ISCCP.

Harrison, Edwin F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Cloud parameters from GOES visible and infrared radiances during the FIRE Cirrus IFO, October 1986

Visible (VIS, 0.65 micron) and infrared (IR, 10.5 microns) channels on geostationary satellites are the key elements of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). All daytime ISCCP cloud parameters are derived from a combination of VIS and IR data. Validation and improvement of the ISCCP and other cloud retrieval algorithms are important components of the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Intensive Field Observations (IFO). Data from the Cirrus IFO (October 19 to November 2, 1986) over Wisconsin are available for validating cirrus cloud retrievals from satellites. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) located over the Equator at approximately 100 deg W provided nearly continuous measurements of VIS and IR radiances over the IFO areas. The preliminary results of cloud parameters derived from the IFO GOES data are presented. Cloud attitudes are first derived using an algorithms without corrections for cloud emissivity. These same parameters will then be computed from the same data relying on an emissivity correction algorithm based on correlative data taken during the Cirrus IFO.

Heck, Patrick W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Comparison of cloud fields from atmospheric general circulation model, in situ and satellite measurements

This paper focuses on the comparison of cloud amounts derived from an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), Satellite-observed clouds, and Ground-based cloud observations. Unlike Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE)-type comparisons it does not mix potential errors in the cloud amount with those in the radiation code embedded in the model. Long term cloud climatologies were used to compare global cloud amounts and regional seasonal cycles. The AGCM successfully reproduced the signatures of the warm pool and North Pacific seasonal cycle cloudiness but failed in the low stratus region off the coast of South America, a known problem for AGCMs. The data sets also reproduced the anomaly signature associated with El Nino in the warm pool region, but the model amounts were lower. Global results had a similar success rate, with the model generally producing lower total cloud compared to the satellite and in situ measurements. To compare cloud vertical distributions the cloud height may need to be validated using the corresponding radiation fields. Unfortunately there were also some large discrepancies between the two observed cloud data sets. While tremendously improved over the last decade the character of the observed cloud data sets, must be substantially enhanced before they will be useful in validating AGCMs by any but the crudest levels of comparison.

Haskins, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Overview of ACE-Asia Spring 2001 Investigations on Aerosol Radiative Effects and Related Aerosol Properties

A primary, ACE-Asia objective was to quantify the interactions between aerosols and radiation in the Asia-Pacific region. Toward this end, radiometric and related aerosol measurements were made from ocean, land, air and space platforms. Models that predict aerosol fields guided the measurements and are helping integrate and interpret results. Companion overview's survey these measurement and modeling components. Here we illustrate how these components were combined to determine aerosol radiative. impacts and their relation to aerosol properties. Because clouds can obscure or change aerosol direct radiative effects, aircraft and ship sorties to measure these effects depended on predicting and finding cloud-free areas and times with interesting aerosols present. Pre-experiment satellite cloud climatologies, pre-flight aerosol and cloud forecasts, and in-flight guidance from satellite imagery all helped achieve this. Assessments of aerosol regional radiative impacts benefit from the spatiotemporal coverage of satellites, provided satellite-retrieved aerosol properties are accurate. Therefore, ACE-Asia included satellite retrieval tests, as part of many comparisons to judge the consistency (closure) among, diverse measurements. Early results include: (1) Solar spectrally resolved and broadband irradiances and optical depth measurements from the C-130 aircraft and at Kosan, Korea yielded aerosol radiative forcing efficiencies, permitting comparisons between efficiencies of ACE-Asia and INDOEX aerosols, and between dust and "pollution" aerosols. Detailed results will be presented in separate papers. (2) Based on measurements of wavelength dependent aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo the estimated 24-h a average aerosol radiative forcing efficiency at the surface for photosynthetically active radiation (400 - 700 nm) in Yulin, China is approx. 30 W sq m per AOD(500 nm). (3) The R/V Brown cruise from Honolulu to Sea of Japan sampled an aerosol optical depth gradient, with AOD(500 nm) extremes from 0.1 to 1.1. On the Pacific transit from Honolulu to Hachijo AOD(500 nm) averaged 0.2, including increases to 0.4 after several storms, suggesting the strong impact of wind-generated seasalt. The AOD maximum, found in the Sea of Japan, was influenced by dust and anthropogenic sources. (4) In Beijing, single scattering albedo retrieved from AERONET sun-sky radiometry yielded midvisible SSA=0.88 with strong wavelength dependence, suggesting a significant black carbon component. SSA retrieved during dust episodes was approx. 0.90 and variable but wavelength neutral reflecting the presence of urban haze with the dust. Downwind at Anmyon Island SSA was considerably higher, approx. 0.94, but wavelength neutral for dust episodes and spectrally dependent during non dust periods. (5) Satellite retrievals show major aerosol features moving from Asia over the Pacific; however, determining seasonal-average aerosol effects is hampered by sampling frequency and large-scale cloud systems that obscure key parts of aerosol patterns. Preliminary calculations using, satellite-retrieved AOD fields and initial ACE-Asia aerosol properties (including sulfates, soot, and dust) yield clear-sky aerosol radiative effects in the seasonal-average ACE-Asia plume exceeding those of manmade greenhouse gases. Quantifying all-sky direct aerosol radiative effects is complicated by the need to define the height of absorbing aerosols with respect to cloud decks.

Russell, Philip B.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Improved Representation of Atmospheric Dynamics in CMIP6 Models Removes Climate Sensitivity Dependence on Hadley Cell Climatological Extent

The persistent inter-model spread in the response of global mean surface temperature to increased CO. (known as the “Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity”, or “ECS”) is a crucial problem across model generations. This work examines the influence of the models’ present-day atmospheric circulation climatologies, and the accompanying climatological cloud radiative effects, in explaining that spread. We analyze the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models and _nd that they simulate a more poleward, and thus more realistic, edge of the Hadley Circulation (HC) in the SouthernHemisphere than the CMIP5 models, although the climatological shortwave cloud radiative effects are similar in the two generations of models. A few CMIP5 models with extreme equatorward biases in the HC edge exhibited high ECS due to strong Southern midlatitude shortwave cloud radiative warming in response to climate change, suggesting an ECS dependence on HC position. We find that such constraint no longer holds for the CMIP6 models, due to absence of models with extreme HC climatologies. In spite of this, however, the CMIP6 models show an increased spread in ECS, with more models in the high ECS range. Additionally, an improved representation of the climatological jet dynamics does not lead to a new emergent constraint in the CMIP6 models either.

Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity↗
NASA NTRS1972

Further developments in cloud statistics for computer simulations

This study is a part of NASA's continued program to provide global statistics of cloud parameters for computer simulation. The primary emphasis was on the development of the data bank of the global statistical distributions of cloud types and cloud layers and their applications in the simulation of the vertical distributions of in-cloud parameters such as liquid water content. These statistics were compiled from actual surface observations as recorded in Standard WBAN forms. Data for a total of 19 stations were obtained and reduced. These stations were selected to be representative of the 19 primary cloud climatological regions defined in previous studies of cloud statistics. Using the data compiled in this study, a limited study was conducted of the hemogeneity of cloud regions, the latitudinal dependence of cloud-type distributions, the dependence of these statistics on sample size, and other factors in the statistics which are of significance to the problem of simulation. The application of the statistics in cloud simulation was investigated. In particular, the inclusion of the new statistics in an expanded multi-step Monte Carlo simulation scheme is suggested and briefly outlined.

Chang, D. T.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Cloud cover sampling capability of various satellite combinations for ISCCP

One of the most important objectives of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) is the quantification of cloud cover and associated radiation parameters for climate research. The time-varying nature of cloud cover requires a measurement system that obtains cloud radiance at sufficient time intervals for determining accurate values of cloudiness for the appropriate averaging period. Current plans for the ISCCP call for such day to be acquired every 3 hours during both data and night to ensure that the diurnal cycle of cloud cover is adequately sampled. The satellite system proposed is an array of geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. The error in mean cloud cover estimates for observation systems which do not include geostationary satellites are quantified. Candidates for such a system include two NOAA Sun-synchronous satellites with daylight equatorial-crossing times of 0730 and 1430, and a USSR satellite in an 81 deg. inclination, 900-km altitude orbit.

Harrison, E. F.↗