Accurate and reliable knowledge about how clouds with various layers and phases are vertically and horizontally distributed and interact with radiation over the globe has been lacking, which hinders the understanding about the impacts of various sub-types of clouds. This study utilizes the cloud retrieval products from the CloudSat/CALIPSO satellite observations from 2007 to 2010 to analyze the global distributions of multi-layer and multi-phase clouds (MLMPCs) as well as their cloud properties and cloud radiative effects (CRE) at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), at the surface, and within the atmosphere. We also systematically analyzed the global vertical cloud radiative heating rates (CRHRs) of MLMPCs. We separate and aggregate cloudy satellite footprints by the number of cloud layers, and further consider the different combinations of cloud phases for the one-layer and multi-layer clouds. The globally averaged total cloud fraction is 72.52 %, with the one-layer and multi-layer clouds take up 49.39 % and 23.13 %, respectively. The one-layer water, ice, and mixed-phase cloud fractions are 21.93 %, 19.42 %, and 8.04 %, respectively. The two-layer and three-layer clouds most frequently occur with one ice layer at the top. The heights of cloud top and bottom as well as the cloud thickness are correspondingly derived for all sub-types of clouds. The globally averaged TOA net total CRE is −18.25 W m⁻², with −14.63 W m⁻² attributed to one-layer clouds and −3.62 W m⁻² to multi-layer clouds. At the surface, the global annual average net total CRE is −25.01 W m⁻², and the one-layer and multi-layer clouds contribute −17.24 W m⁻² and −7.77 W m⁻², respectively. Clouds generally exert a net heating effect within the atmosphere. But the vertical structure and magnitude of CRHRs are predominantly modulated by cloud fraction, phase, vertical thickness, and intrinsic cloud microphysical and optical properties. For multi-layer cloud systems, the vertical separation and phase combination between adjacent layers greatly affect interlayer radiative interactions. The global net CRHRs are primarily governed by longwave (LW) CRHRs, which generally result in cooling above and heating below cloud layers. Overall, single-layer clouds exhibit a consistent net cooling-heating vertical structure from the cloud top to cloud bottom. Notably, double-layer cloud systems with an ice cloud layer at the top exhibit highly similar shortwave CRHR structures, while their LW CRHR patterns vary markedly depending on the different cloud properties. Tropical MLMPCs show much more complex cloud structures and heating characteristics than their counterparts in the higher latitudes. Our findings provide valuable insights into the detailed layer and phase structures, the physical properties, and the radiative impacts of clouds, which could serve as the reference for the understanding and evaluating cloud structure and radiation simulations.

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