Climate-Radiation Feedbacks

The understanding of climate change due to human activities is dependent on an understanding of the energy balance of the Earth. Clouds, their type and spatial coverage, play a key role in the EarthÕs energy balance. Better understanding of clouds and ways to more accurately represent them in models is key to the development of better climate models. This Elements of Change report discusses various observational methods from microphysical, synoptic, and the global scale as well as theoretical understanding of cloud formation and attenuation of incoming and outgoing radiation. Also included within this report are recommendations for observational needs and techniques along with a set of theoretical approaches for cloud parameterization in climate modeling.

Suggested citation:

Hassol, S.J., P. Norris, and J. Katzenberger, eds. 1995, electronic edition 2008. Climate Radiation Feedbacks: The Current State of the Science. Proc. of an Aspen Global Change Institute Workshop 10-23 July 1994, Elements of Change series, AGCI. https://doi.org/10.69925/VMEO9382