Changes in cloud amount over South America

NADIA TESTANI; FEDERICO ARIEL ROBLEDO; LEANDRO DIAZ

Christchurch

Conferencia; International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography; 2022

American Meteorological Society

Cloudiness is a key element of the climate system and has a large influence on agricultural production. Although large-scale patterns of cloud change have been observed in the last decades, there are few studies that explore the particularities of these changes in South America (SA). In this research cloudiness over SA is studied using satellite-based observations, primarily from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, ISCCP, in order to describe regional cloud climatology and changes.We use the visible/IR detected cloud amount product of the ISCCP-H data set, with monthly mean global coverage from July 1983 to June 2017 on a 1° X 1° grid. Clouds are classified as low (cloud top pressure>680 hPa), middle (440 hPa