Scientists improve detection of Arctic clouds
Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 09:31
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) —Thin Arctic clouds can no longer hide, thanks to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Atmospheric data gathered by skyward pointing instruments can be "contaminated" by clouds so wispy that they appear to the instruments as tiny, suspended particles called aerosols, the desired target. The researchers showed how a simple modification of typical methods used to detect denser clouds and remove them from the data results in more accurate measurements of aerosols. (See sidebar, Cloud Contamination and Cloud Screening). With these improvements, scientists can better understand how aerosols influence climate changes in the Arctic.