Use of In-Situ Cloud Microphysical Observations to Learn about Cloud Properties and Processes

Abstract:

Some of the most fundamental and complex problems in weather and climate research today center around our poor understanding of the basic properties of clouds and our inability to determine quantitatively the many effects clouds have on weather and climate. The use of in-situ probes on aircraft measuring the microphysical properties of clouds (e.g., size, shape and phase distributions as well as bulk properties such as extinction and mass content) has provided fundamental advances in our understanding of the processes acting in clouds and our ability to represent these processes in models covering a myriad of spatial and temporal scales.

This presentation will review the current status and outstanding problems on the use of cloud probes for measuring cloud properties. Uncertainties associated with properties measured by cloud probes will be discussed and a strategy for mitigating these uncertainties will be reviewed. Recent examples of how cloud probes have been used to further our understanding of the importance of cloud processes in various meteorological phenomena will be discussed. Ideas for future work that can further constrain our knowledge of clouds will be overviewed.