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A comprehensive characterization of all hydrometeors in the vertical column is an important task, which is crucial for model parameterization and validation purposes. For many years, the remote sensing efforts within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program were focused primarily on either non-precipitating or only weakly-precipitating (e.g., drizzling) cloud retrievals. The simultaneous retrievals of cloud [...]
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Cirrus differs from liquid clouds in that it consists of non-spherical ice crystals which have a wide variety of shapes and sizes. To determine cirrus radiative properties, their representation in general circulation models (GCMs), and hence the influence of cirrus on the climate system, the fundamental single-scattering properties (e.g., scattering phase function P11, asymmetry parameter [...]
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To the naked eye, clouds appear to have sharp boundaries; however, this is merely an illusion. Cloud boundaries are actually somewhat fuzzy, with the transition from cloud to clear stretching over as little as 50 m to as much as several hundred meters. Fuzzy cloud boundaries create major headaches for studies of aerosol [...]
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There is increasing evidence that solar radiation at the Earth’s surface has not been constant over time, but has undergone climatologically significant decadal variations. This is indicated, for example, in indirect data from sunshine duration recorders, which show substantial decadal changes since their initiation in the late 19th century.
Direct surface radiation measurements started to become [...]
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