The secret lives of clouds: The role of clouds for climate, weather and air quality
Abstract:
Clouds play a pivotal role in the radiative balance of Earth and also provide an important feedback in the climate system. For instance, depending on their properties, clouds can cool or heat Earth. At the same time, cloud processes govern the regional distribution of precipitation and thereby the supply of fresh water and influence air quality via liquid phase chemical reactions.
The lecture series will introduce into the fundamentals of cloud physics and discuss the state of knowledge on the role of clouds in the climate system, the interaction between clouds and aerosols, the formation of precipitation and the role of clouds for atmospheric chemistry.
For all these processes, we will explore the anthropogenic influence and the prospects for deliberate manipulation of these most sensitive constituents of the environment.