Research on cirrus clouds in Tibetan Plateau using MWHS onboard Chinese FY3B/C meteorological satellite

High-altitude cirrus clouds are particularly common in the Tibetan Plateau, which is populated by irregular ice crystals with complex scattering and absorption characteristics. Given the scarcity of ground probing sites, the lack of observational data, laser radar and infrared and visible light detection forces us to develop a new sounding method. In this paper, combined cloud products from CloudSat and MODIS, the retrieval algorithm of Dme and IWC from MWHS data (89 and 150 GHz) onboard Chinese FY-3B/C meteorological satellite is described and analyzed in Tibetan Plateau and the authors analyze the distribution of cirrus in Tibetan plateau and derive the ice water content (IWC) and median mass equivalent sphere diameter (D
_me
) of each microphysical sample. Then the analysis of cirrus clouds distribution over seasonal and annual variations of the Tibetan Plateau during a 1-year period can be provided, and it is important for researchers to analyze the impact of this region to China and global climate through cirrus clouds parameters.