Atlas of Simultaneous Occurrence of Different Cloud Types Over the Ocean

This is the first atlas in a series of four atlases from a study of the global cloud distribution from ground-based observations. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), a five-year project is now under way, will study the methods of obtaining cloud information from satellite radiation observations. This atlas of co-occurrence of different cloud types over the ocean is expected to aid in the development of these methods by providing ground-based data for comparison with satellite observations. It should also assist the development of cloud generation schemes in climate models. The frequency of occurrence of each cloud type and the co-occurrence of different types are described, but no information about cloud amounts are included.