Analyzing Aerosol–Cloud–Climate Interactions through Remotely Sensed Data

Dear Colleagues,

The impact of aerosols on cloud properties is one of the largest uncertainties in the anthropogenic radiative forcing of the climate. Significant progress has been made in constraining this forcing using observations, but uncertainty remains, particularly around the magnitude of cloud rapid adjustments to aerosol perturbations. For example, the liquid water path (LWP) response to aerosol perturbation is often confounded by meteorological factors that are difficult to isolate. The cloud nucleus concentration’s dependency on cloud number concentration for both mixed-phase and cirrus clouds is also not well constrained and depends on the aerosol type and size distribution. Recent observational and modeling efforts found weak and average liquid–cloud–water responses to anthropogenic aerosols, while others found stronger relations under various conditions. To accurately quantify cloud responses to aerosols, there is a need for an improved detection of both spatial and temporal quantities of cloud water content, albedo, and cloud and aerosol particle numbers.

Our aim is to publish the state-of-the-art measurement capabilities of concurrent aerosol and cloud systems that use various remote sensing methodologies, including novel approaches. By advancing measurement capabilities, modeling and prediction capabilities can be advanced and better estimations of the radiative budgets of the Earth under different scenarios can be developed.

This Special Issue seeks papers dedicated to concurrent measurements of aerosols and clouds using either passive or active remote sensing sensors from space-borne, airborne, balloon-borne, and UAV platforms, as well as ground-based sensors, with a special emphasis on high temporal resolution measurements that can detangle meteorological effects from aerosol effects on clouds. We invite papers that combine measurement and modeling approaches that can further the understanding in this dynamic field and welcome papers covering scopes of liquid, mixed-phase, and cirrus cloud properties under various aerosol conditions (pristine and polluted) and at various geographical locations (equator and high latitudes).

Dr. Michal Segal-Rosenheimer
Dr. Haochi Che
Guest Editors

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