Editing Cloud physics (section)

=== Parameters ===

The value of a certain parameter is more reliable the more satellites are measuring the said parameter. This is because the range of errors and neglected details varies from instrument to instrument. Thus, if the analysed parameter has similar values for different instruments, it is accepted that the true value lies in the range given by the corresponding data sets.<ref name = "2013stubenrauch" />

The [[Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment]] uses the following quantities in order to compare data quality from different satellites in order to establish a reliable quantification of the properties of the clouds:<ref name = "2013stubenrauch" />

*the ''[[cloud cover]] or cloud amount'' with values between 0 and 1
*the ''cloud temperature at [[cloud top]]'' ranging from 150 to 340 K
*the ''cloud pressure at top'' 1013 - 100 [[hPa]]
*the ''cloud height'', measured above sea level, ranging from 0 to 20&nbsp;km
*the ''cloud [[Infrared|IR]] [[emissivity]]'', with values between 0 and 1, with a global average around 0.7
*the ''effective cloud amount'', the cloud amount weighted by the cloud IR emissivity, with a global average of 0.5
*the ''cloud (visible) [[optical depth]]'' varies within a range of 4 and 10. 
*the ''cloud water path'' for the liquid and solid (ice) phases of the cloud particles
*the ''cloud effective particle size'' for both liquid and ice, ranging from 0 to 200 μm