VOCALS: Cloud Remote Sensing in Support of VOCAL-REx: Linking Cloud Optical Properties to Aerosol and Precipitation Variability

VOCALS：支持 VOCAL-REx 的云遥感：将云光学特性与气溶胶和降水变化联系起来

• 批准号: 0745470
• 负责人: Paquita Zuidema
• 金额: $ 21.04万
• 依托单位: University of Miami
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-02-01 至 2013-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0745470&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: VOCALS; Cloud; Remote; Sensing; Support

The sparsely observed Southeast Pacific Ocean is covered by the world's largest subtropical sheet of stratocumulus clouds. Climate models poorly simulate these clouds, with consequences for the global climate sensitivity and for model simulations of how atmospheric particles affect the climate. While these simulations are improving, better model treatments of clouds and particles are limited by gaps in the understanding of key physical processes, such as the interactions of clouds, aerosols, and drizzle. The observations and analyses in this project are contributions to VOCALS-REx, the VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment, a program of field measurements, analysis, and modeling, intended to address these gaps. (VAMOS is an international science project, the Variability of the American Monsoon System.)This project focuses on cloud remote sensing that links cloud optical properties to the underlying aerosol and drizzle variability. Cloud liquid water paths (LWPs) will be retrieved using data from a microwave radiometer deployed on the NSF C-130 aircraft. These measurements are an essential part of VOCALS-REx. Cloud LWPs are arguably the most important parameter for low clouds over the ocean: they affect how much sunlight the clouds reflect back to space, and they are crucial to identifying the effects of particles on clouds and precipitation. Cloud LWP is the variable most commonly compared between models and observations. This microwave radiometer will provide LWP retrievals of higher accuracy than has previously been possible for low-latitude stratocumulus clouds.Broader impacts of this work are in supporting the PhD thesis work of a Chilean graduate student. Zuidema and the graduate student will participate in the "Windows to the Universe" VOCALS education and outreach program, and Zuidema will engage with high-school science classes at her alma mater in Urbana, Illinois, which has a predominantly lower-income student population.

稀疏观察到的东南太平洋被世界上最大的亚热带地层云层所覆盖。 气候模型模拟了这些云，对全球气候敏感性以及模拟大气颗粒如何影响气候的模型产生了影响。 尽管这些模拟正在改善，但对云和颗粒的更好模型处理受到对关键物理过程的理解（例如云，气溶胶和毛毛雨的相互作用）的差异的限制。 该项目中的观察结果和分析是对人声rex的贡献，即Vamos Ocean-Cloud-atmosphere-land研究区域实验，旨在解决这些差距的现场测量，分析和建模计划。 （VAMOS是一个国际科学项目，是美国季风系统的可变性。）该项目着重于将云光学性质与基础气溶胶和毛毛雨可变性联系起来的云遥感。 使用来自NSF C-130飞机上的微波辐射计的数据，将检索云液态水路径（LWP）。 这些测量是人声rex的重要组成部分。 云LWP可以说是海洋低云的最重要参数：它们会影响云层反射回空间的程度，并且对于识别颗粒对云和降水的影响至关重要。 云LWP是模型和观测值之间最常见的变量。 该微波辐射计将提供比以前低纬度层流云的LWP检索。这项工作的影响力在支持智利研究生的PhD论文工作方面的影响。 Zuidema和研究生将参加“宇宙窗户”的人声教育和外展计划，Zuidema将与她在伊利诺伊州Urbana的母校的高中科学课程与伊利诺伊州厄巴纳的高中科学课程互动，该课程主要是低收入的学生群体。