CloudSat mission: Performance and early science after the first year of operation

The frequency of precipitation increases significantly with increasing cloud depth, and the increased depth and water path of precipitating clouds leads to increased optical depths and substantially more sunlight reflected from precipitating clouds compared to than nonprecipitating warm clouds. The CloudSat observations also provide an authoritative estimate of global ice water paths. The observed ice water paths are larger than those predicted from most climate models.

CloudSat observations also indicate that clouds radiatively heat the global mean atmospheric column (relative to clear skies) by about 10 Wm⁻². Although this heating appears to be contributed almost equally by solar and infrared absorption, the latter contribution is shown to vary significantly with latitude being influenced by the predominant cloud structures of the different region in questions.