Abstract

Clouds and their radiative effects strongly influence climate (Ramanathan et al., 1989). High priority has been assigned (CES, 1989) to research the role of clouds’ radiative properties in climate change, especially as feedback mechanisms, and on how to incorporate these effects properly in climate models. Measurements of climate-significant properties of clouds, such as height, optical density, and particle size distribution, are needed in intensive process studies and also in extended studies to observe the large variety of cloud conditions that occur.

© 1990 Optical Society of America