Minghua Zhang (PI)
State University of New York Stony Brook
mzhang@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Using Satellite Measurements to Improve the Modeling of Low and Middle Clouds and Their Climate Feedbacks

This proposal focuses on low and middle clouds in climate models in the subsidence regions of the tropics (30oN-30oS) and their climate feedbacks.  Specific research tasks are to understand the response of low/middle clouds to climate changes in the three GCMs of GMAO, GISS, and CAM3, and to improve the modeling of these clouds using satellite measurements.   Two approaches will be used:  (i) analysis of integrated datasets from multiple satellites, and (ii) evaluation, improvement, and development of a hierarchy of modeling tools.  Distinct features of the proposed approaches are: multi-level nesting of high-resolution models (mesoscale models, CRMs, and LES) inside a GCM, and climate model simulations initialized with operational analysis.  The planned research activities include collaborations of university investigators and scientists from three NASA research centers who are actively working on satellite data products and improvement of NASA modeling systems.  The objective of the proposal is to improve the modeling of the variability of tropical low/middle clouds at the process level and their climate feedback on the global scale. The proposed research will lead to improved understanding of cloud variabilities, better modeling tools, and improved understanding of climate feedbacks of clouds, thereby enabling more reliable prediction of future climate change.

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