Retrieval of cloud parameters is fundamental for descriptions of the cloud process in weather and cloud models, and is also the base for theoretical and applicational investigations on weather modification, aerosol- cloud-precipitation interaction, cloud-radiative climate effects, and so on. However, it is still difficult to ob- rain full information of cloud parameters over a wide area under the current level of science and technology. Luckily, parameters at the top of clouds can be retrieved with the satellite spectrum remote sensing, which is useful in obtaining global cloud properties. In this paper, cloud parameters retrieved by the bispectral reflectance （BSR） method and other methods developed on the basis of the BSR are briefly summarized. Recent advances in studies on the indirect effects of aerosol on cloud parameters are reviewed. The rela- tionships among cloud parameters and precipitation intensity, type, and structure are elaborated on, based upon the pixel-level merged datasets derived from daily measurements of precipitation radar and visible and infrared scanner, together with cloud parameters retrieved by the BSR. It is revealed that cloud particle effective radius and liquid water path near cloud tops are effective to identify the thickness and intensity of convective precipitating clouds. Furthermore, the differences in cloud parameters and precipitation intensity for precipitating and non-precipitating clouds over land and ocean are compared in this paper.
In this study, a merged dataset constructed from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission precipitation radar rain products and Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive data is used to investigate the thermal structural characteristics of convective and stratiform precipitation in the rainy season （May-August） of 1998-2012 over East Asia. The res- ults show that the storm tops for convective precipitation are higher than those for stratiform precipitation, because of the more unstable atmospheric motions for convective precipitation. Moreover, the storm tops are higher at 1200 UTC than at 0000 UTC over land regions for both convective and stratiform precipitation, and vice versa for ocean region. Additionally, temperature anomaly patterns inside convective and stratiform precipitating clouds show a neg- ative anomaly of about 0-2 K, which results in cooling effects in the lower troposphere. This cooling is more obvi- ous at 1200 UTC for stratiform precipitation. The positive anomaly that appears in the middle troposphere is more than 2 K, with the strongest warming at 300 hPa. Relative humidity anomaly patterns show a positive anomaly in the middle troposphere （700-500 hPa） prior to the occurrence of the two types of precipitation, and the increase in mois- ture is evident for stratiform precipitation.
