Cloud top
The cloud top (or the top of the cloud) is the largest altitude of the visible portion of the cloud. It is traditionally expressed either in m above the Earth (or planetary) surface, or as the corresponding pressure level in hectopascal (hPa, equivalent to millibar).
In convective clouds, the cloud top is largely influenced by the strength of the convection activity, which itself may largely depend on surface properties, in particular the supply of water vapor below the cloud and the temperature of the underlying surface. Cloud top height is thus often much more variable than cloud base elevation.
Cloud top height may be estimated from satellite measurements, either through stereophotogrammetry (using pairs of images acquired at different observation angles) or by converting temperature measurements into estimations of height. An example of the stereo technique using the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument can be found here [[1]].
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See also
References
- Huschke, Ralph E. (1959) Glossary of Meteorology, American Meteorological Society, Boston, Second printing-1970.