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ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026. Т. 23. № 3. С. 353-368

Climatology of crystalline clouds over Tomsk based on MODIS and ERA5 data for 2000–2025 as a basis for organizing ground-based lidar observations

A.V. Skorokhodov 1 , V.A. Shishko 1 
1 V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, Tomsk, Russia
Accepted: 23.04.2026
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-3-353-368
Lidar polarization sounding is the primary method for remote sensing of microphysical characteristics of crystalline clouds. The use of scanning laser systems involves active control of their modes during experiment, which requires prior information about the object of study in order to increase the efficiency of measurements. The paper presents the results of a statistical analysis of crystalline clouds and environmental parameters. The study was conducted over the Tomsk city where the LOZA-M3 ground-based scanning lidar station is located using data from long-term observations by MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v. 5). Groups of clouds with different characteristics have been identified and conditionally interpreted as low, transitional and high crystalline clouds based on the application of HDBSCAN (Hierarchical Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) and OPTICS (Ordering Points to Identify the Clustering Structure) density clustering algorithms using the principal component method. Typical features of the synoptic condition at the altitudes of their observation were identified for each group. The statistical characteristics of annual recurrence and seasonal distributions of the parameters for the selected groups are analyzed. On this basis, recommendations and methodological guidelines have been formulated for planning lidar experiments over Tomsk aimed at studying crystalline clouds with different orientations of ice particles. The results obtained can be used for other regions of the planet and the statistical estimates themselves will be applied in the development of an optical model of lidar signal propagation.
Keywords: cluster analysis, crystalline clouds, lidar sounding, ERA5 reanalysis, statistical analysis, cloud characteristics, MODIS
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