Research Project: Remote Sensing Of Ice Cloud Properties Using High Frequency Sub-Millimeter Wave Radiometry - Student: Adam Bell
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1. Abstract
Ice clouds play a substantial role in the Earth’s climate system, particularly through their influence on the global energy budget. Fundamental ice cloud parameters for quantifying cloud radiative properties are ice water path (IWP) and ice particle effective diameter (Deff). Current General Circulation Models (GCMs) vary in their estimation of cloud IWP by as much as an order of magnitude. Imposing constraints from observations is challenging since ice mass retrievals are generally ill conditioned (i.e. less information content in observations than the solution). Sub-millimeter (sub-mm) wave radiometry is an emerging technique for characterizing cloud properties due to high sensitivity to ice cloud parameters, in particular IWP. The continued aim of this project is to develop effective retrieval techniques utilizing passive high frequency sub-millimeter (sub-mm) and thermal infrared (IR) observations to infer such ice cloud properties. A robust sub-mm climatology of ice cloud microphysical properties helps provide a more holistic understanding of ice clouds and acts as a constraint to increase model performance, but also advances one of NASA’s overarching goals in Earth Science: advance the understanding of change in the Earth’s radiation balance…that result from changes in atmospheric composition. Summarized below are the major accomplishments since the previous reporting, which relate directly to the initial and previous timeline of research. We also provide an updated timeline of research to be conducted for the remainder of this project, as well as a list of current
and future conference presentations.
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