Researchers devise ways for remote sensors to integrate aerosol content above clouds into current methods of measurement.
clouds
Four Perspectives on Order From Chaos
What makes thunderstorms clump, even to the point of singularity, over uniform oceans? Three recent papers in JAMES address this question, and a new Commentary ties them together.
Climate Change Influences the Dynamics Behind Tropical Cyclones
A new model reveals how cumulus convection, humidity, and tropical circulations interact as global temperatures rise.
Where Does Lightning Come From?
Thunderstorms and Elementary Particle Acceleration (TEPA-2015); Yerevan, Armenia, 5–9 October 2015
Icy Clouds May Counter Climate Warming Less Than Expected
A new analysis of cloud composition and behavior suggests that scientists have overestimated the ability of a type of mixed-phase ice-and-water cloud to mitigate climate change effects.
Modeling the Effects of Clouds on Climate
New research investigates how mixed-phase cloud partitioning and cloud cover compensate each other in GCMs.
Aerosols Make Cumulus Clouds Brighter but Shorter Lived
Computer simulations show that although adding aerosol particles to clouds can make them more reflective, the cooling effect from clouds is largely counterbalanced by a reduction in overall cloud cover.
Could Thinning of High Clouds Combat Climate Change?
A climate engineering technique that lets more heat escape from the atmosphere could avoid water cycle suppression associated with other radiation management approaches.
How Climate Change Impacts Clouds' Ability to Cool Earth
Understanding the small-scale processes underlying mixed-phase clouds' response to climate change will help scientists strengthen climate models.
Cloud Overlap Observations Put Simulations to the Test
Fine-scale simulations of cumulus cloud layers could help improve weather and climate models.