Abstract:
Low-resolution images obtained from the NOAA orbiting satellites were analysed to obtain joint albedo-temperature distributions for six specific geographical areas in the New Zealand region. The distributions were coherently averaged to suppress transient structures and enhance quasipersistent features. There is strong evidence for the success of the method in identifying orographic cloud that is characteristic of any given area, and in evaluating the synoptic scale effects of a large island complex on ocean cloud cover.