Remote Sensing Retrieval of Optical Character of Cloud and Distribution of Cloud Water in Qilian Mountains

By using MODIS data from Terra and Aqua satellite, 6-h precipitation data of 18 cases from 2002 to 2005, applying 6S model and Mie model, some parameters including optical thickness of cloud, efficient radius of cloud particle, and content of liquid water are retrieved, the interspace of which is also analyzed by combining with GIS software. Then the relation of all those parameters and 6-h precipitation are analyzed.The results show that there is difference between distribution of the optics thickness and efficient radius of cloud particle, which is influenced by terrain. The largest value on the southern mountains is less than 4300 m, which means there is rich cloud water in the region. There is positive correlation between precipitation and three parameters;precipitation probability is large when optical thickness is changed from 8 to 20; efficient radius of cloud particle is changed from 6 to 12 μm and content of liquid water is more than 0.04 g m-3. In Qilian Mountains content of liquid water is higher than 0.15 g-m-3 at 4300 m and it means that there is large potential to exploit cloud water.