Cirrus Light Scattering and Parameterization Using Satellite Polarimetric and Multichannel Observations

Cirrus clouds comprise ice crystals and cover about 30% of the earth surface. Cirrus, sometimes left over from thunderstorms, cover vast areas, shadow the surface, and can change heat transfer and wind significantly. They strongly influence global climate by reflecting sunlight and absorbing thermal radiation emitted from the surface. If absorption outweighs reflection, cirrus clouds will have a warming effect on the surface, and vice versa. However, current models do not have rigorous microphysics and schemes to accurately represent cirrus due to insufficient knowledge of cirrus particle morphology on a global scale, posing a grand challenge for both weather forecast and climate change predictions.

This project aims to fill such a critical knowledge gap, by maximising the synergy of unpolarized and polarized satellite observations that are currently heavily underused. This will be performed through an optimisation framework built within the ESA Cloud and Aerosol Climate Change Initiative, ensuring direct impacts on current and future satellite products. Specifically, this project seeks to:
- Determine the best cirrus particle morphology models, using the A-Train satellites.
- Evaluate current models and explore the relationships between cirrus properties and atmospheric conditions.
- Develop a new cirrus radiative parameterization for utilization by the numerical weather prediction, climate and remote sensing communities

More details are available on the project description at http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/nercdtp/home/available/desc/entry2017/SC201711.pdf