CAREER: Investigation of the Scattering and Radiative Properties of Ice and Mixed-Phase Clouds

该项目的目标是改进遥感应用中冰和混合相云的处理以及气候和大气环流模型中云的参数化。 这项研究包括五个广泛的组成部分。 这些主要是光散射的非球形冰粒，包括规则和不规则形状的卷云和云组成的冰晶和过冷水滴的混合特征的晶体的基本调查。 这项工作集中在提高散射计算的精度和效率，通过使用时域有限差分（FTDT）方法，T矩阵方法，和改进的几何光学方法（IGOM）的组合。 其目的是产生一个数据库的吸收和散射特性的各种冰晶形式在太阳和红外波长。 其他研究内容包括：（1）将单个粒子的散射结果与卷云成分的信息结合起来，以确定卷云的辐射特性，供卫星遥感之用;（2）卷云和混合相云整体辐射特性的参数化，以应用于大尺度大气模型;（3）发展从多光谱卫星测量推断云的微物理和光学特性的反演算法;（4）将光散射程序、辐射传输方案和反演算法集成在一个方便的计算包中，供遥感和气候模拟界使用。 沿着研究生和本科生的监督，该项目的教育部分包括开发一个整合辐射传输，云物理学和大气遥感的课程，并最终建立一个辐射传输和遥感实验室，包括基于网络的教学材料。

The goal of this project is to improve the treatment of ice and mixed-phase clouds in remote sensing applications and in the parameterization of clouds for climate and general circulation models. The research consists of five broad components. Principal of these is a fundamental investigation of light scattering by nonspherical ice particles, including crystals of regular and irregular shapes characteristic of cirrus clouds and clouds composed of a mix of ice crystals and supercooled water droplets. This work centers on improving the accuracy and efficiency of scattering computations by using a combination of the finite-difference time domain (FTDT) method, T-matrix methods, and the improved geometric optics method (IGOM). The objective is to generate a data base for absorption and scattering properties of various ice crystal forms at solar and infrared wavelengths. The other research components include (1) integration of the scattering results for individual particles with information of the composition of cirrus clouds to determine the radiative properties of the clouds for the purposes of satellite remote sensing; (2) parameterization of the bulk radiative properties of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds for application to large-scale atmospheric models; (3) development of retrieval algorithms for inferring cloud microphysical and optical properties from multispectral satellite measurements; (4) integration of the light scattering programs, radiative transfer schemes, and retrieval algorithms in a convenient computational package for the remote sensing and climate modeling communities. Along with graduate and undergraduate student supervision, the educational component of the project comprises developing a curriculum that integrates radiative transfer, cloud physics, and atmospheric remote sensing, and ultimately establishing a Laboratory for Radiative Transfer and Remote Sensing, including web-based instructional material.