Discussion of current developments and challenges in understanding the role of clouds in the Earth’s radiation balance on all scales.
Leads/Contacts
Co-Chair: Andreas Macke, TROPOS, Leipzig, Germany
Co-Chair: Johannes Quaas, LIM, Leipzig, Germany
Mission Statement
The radiation balance of our planet is most strongly influenced by clouds, which are also the most complex atmospheric structures in space and time. This has long been a challenge for our understanding of the radiative effects of clouds and their role in climate change.
The working group has set the goal of assessing the latest progress in cloud observations and modeling, with particular emphasis on their radiative properties, associated impacts, and their response to anthropogenic forcing in a changing Earth system. The group covers expertise in all related areas, from light scattering theory, radiation transfer, and cloud modeling to ground-based and satellite-based remote sensing, as well as ground-based and airborne in situ measurements. Our task is to provide recommendations for future research on clouds and radiation based on current research results and research infrastructures.
Key Activities
- Reviewing the literature on important achievements
- Identifying challenges and gaps in our understanding of the role of clouds in the radiation budget under changing climate
- Proposing new initiatives in cloud-radiation research to be discussed at regular IRC business meetings
Information on membership/participation:
To establish the working group, the working group leaders invited a number of experts from various fields. Future memberships will be discussed jointly within this group. Two to three online meetings per year are planned. In parallel, email discussions on specific topics are planned.
Members
Céline Cornet
Seung Hee Ham (LARC-E302)
Tiziano Maestri
Anja Hünerbein
Sebastian Schmidt
Jason Cole (ECCC)
Ivy Tan
Hailing Jia
Guy Dagan
Zhipeng Qu (ECCC)
Johannes Muelmenstaedt
Kaori Sato
Maria Rugenstein
Shannon Mason
Robin Hogan
Almudena Velazquez Blazquez
Hartwig Deneke