Determination of cloud geometrical thickness using backscattered solar light in a gaseous absorption band

A method previously developed by the authors is employed to determine the cloud geometrical thickness from combined measurements of the cloud brightness temperature and the backscattered solar light intensity in the O₂ A-band. The technique is applied to the analysis of four selected orbits of the European Remote Sensing 2 satellite using measurements performed by the Global Ozone Measurement Experiment spectrometer and the Along Track Scanning Radiometer. Cloud geometrical thicknesses were found to be in the range 0.5-7.5 km with most frequent values of 3 km for the cases studied.