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Improving climate projections by understanding how cloud phase affects radiation
Author(s) -
Cesana Gregory,
Storelvmo Trude
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2017jd026927
Subject(s) - cloud computing , climate model , cloud feedback , climate change , environmental science , radiative transfer , cloud forcing , climate sensitivity , phase (matter) , meteorology , climatology , satellite , atmospheric sciences , remote sensing , computer science , geography , physics , geology , oceanography , quantum mechanics , operating system , astronomy
Whether a cloud is predominantly water or ice strongly influences interactions between clouds and radiation coming down from the Sun or up from the Earth. Being able to simulate cloud phase transitions accurately in climate models based on observational data sets is critical in order to improve confidence in climate projections, because this uncertainty contributes greatly to the overall uncertainty associated with cloud‐climate feedbacks. Ultimately, it translates into uncertainties in Earth's sensitivity to higher CO 2 levels. While a lot of effort has recently been made toward constraining cloud phase in climate models, more remains to be done to document the radiative properties of clouds according to their phase. Here we discuss the added value of a new satellite data set that advances the field by providing estimates of the cloud radiative effect as a function of cloud phase and the implications for climate projections.