Research Article

Arctic Climate Variability and Trends from Satellite Observations

Table 1

Symbols and physical meanings of the 18 retrieved climate parameters.

PID namePhysical meaning

Surface temperature (°C or K).
Broadband albedo (range: [ ]).
ReCloud droplet effective radius (μm).
Cloud optical depth (unitless).
Cloud particle phase (0 = liquid, 100 = ice).
Cloud top temperature (°C or K).
Cloud top pressure (hPa).
PWPrecipitable water (cm).
SW Downwelling shortwave radiation at the surface (W/m2).
LW Downwelling longwave radiation at the surface (W/m2).
SW Upwelling shortwave radiation at the surface (W/m2).
LW Upwelling longwave radiation at the surface (W/m2).
SW Downwelling shortwave radiation at the TOA (W/m2).
SW Upwelling shortwave radiation at the TOA (W/m2).
LW Upwelling longwave radiation at the TOA (W/m2).
Shortwave cloud forcing at the surface (W/m2).
Longwave cloud forcing at the surface (W/m2).
Cloud fraction (0–100, unitless).