Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C520471/1
Cirrus and Anvils European Satellite and Airborne Radiation measurements project.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr R Siddans, Imperial College London, Physics
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr C Poulsen, Monash University, Sch of Geography & Environmental Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JC Pickering, Imperial College London, Physics
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JE Harries, Imperial College London, Physics
- Grant held at:
- Imperial College London, Physics
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Earth
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Global Change
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Science Topics:
- Water In The Atmosphere
- Radiative Processes & Effects
- Tropospheric Processes
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Much effort has gone into predicting how climate will change in the future. Climate change occurs if the balance between heating the Earth (energy from the sun) and cooling (reflection of sun-light or radiation of heat) is disturbed. Over the last 100-200 years mankind has been producing large amounts of 'greenhouse' gases like carbon dioxide (mainly by using fossil fuels) which have reduced the amount of heat escaping to space. The average temperature at the surface has risen and is expected to continue to rise as a result. However, many other processes affect the energy balance and their interactions are complicated. To accurately predict climate change we rely on computer models and ensure they are realistic by careful testing against measurements. Cloud has a very large impact on the energy balance and the amount and type of cloud will change as the climate evolves. However, it is extremely difficult to simulate the effect of cloud in a computer model and this is one of the main factors which limits our current ability to predict climate change. Ice clouds (cirrus) are particularly complicated: They reflect sunlight back to space (cooling), but are colder than the ground and so less heat is radiated to space when cirrus is present (warming). To work out the size of the combined effect models must correctly predict the cloud temperature, how much ice it contains, the size and shape of the ice crystals, and the way they scatter light and radiate heat. Measurements are needed to verify modelled estimates of all these properties. By flying the inside and above cloud the UK's well equipped FAAM aircraft can measure of all these important properties. However, because of the cost, only a few clouds can be studied in this way and this is not sufficient because cloud varies greatly with location and time. Satellites can provide global measurements of the radiation emitted by clouds, and from them we can infer some of the necessary information (cloud temperature, how opaque it is and the crystal size). Ground-based instruments such as the Chilbolton radars and lidar (like radar but using a visible or infra-red lasar as the source) cannot give global information but do measure frequently in time and can reveal the vertical structure of clouds far better than has been possible with previous satellite instruments. In 2005 however new satellites will be launched with radar and lidar and these are expected to provide extremely valuable new information. We will still rely on satellite radiation measurements as these are made far more frequently in space and time and have been for several decades. In this project we intend to bring all of this information together and use it to carefully test model assumptions. We will measure in winter and summer two distinct types of cirrus with the aircraft. We will include a new instrument TAFTS which will measure radiation emitted in the far infra-red spectral range. In combination with the other instruments on aircraft, this will allow us to test out best current model of ice scattering and emission across the whole visible and infra-red range important in modelling climate. We will match measurements of the aircraft with satellite and ground-based radar and lidar observations to check the quality of the new space measurements. We will also test our models against the satellite instrument SEVIRI which measures over the Atlantic, Africa and Europe every 15 minutes. Making use of the other observations, we will test whether it is possible to recover new valuable information on the vertical structure of cirrus from SEVIRI, which would open up the possibility of making better use of the multi-decade satellite record. The outcome of this project will be a better understanding of the impact of cirrus on climate and improvements in computer models which will lead to more accurate predictions of climate change.
- Period of Award:
- 10 Oct 2005 - 9 Aug 2007
- Value:
- £27,348 Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C520471/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £27,348
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £15,910 | £2,995 | £7,066 | £1,378 |
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