Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

CHASER: An Innovative Satellite Mission Concept to Measure the Effects of Aerosols on Clouds and Climate

Nilton O. Rennó Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Earle Williams Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Daniel Rosenfeld Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

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David G. Fischer NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

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Jürgen Fischer Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

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Tibor Kremic NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

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Arun Agrawal School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Meinrat O. Andreae Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany

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Rosina Bierbaum School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Richard Blakeslee NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama

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Anko Boerner Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin, Germany

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Neil Bowles Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

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Hugh Christian ESSC/NSSTC, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama

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Ann Cox Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia

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Jason Dunion Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

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Akos Horvath Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany

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Xianglei Huang Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Alexander Khain Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

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Stefan Kinne Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany

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Maria C. Lemos School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Joyce E. Penner Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Ulrich Pöschl Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany

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Johannes Quaas Institute for Meteorology, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

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Elena Seran LATMOS, University of Paris VI, Paris, France

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Bjorn Stevens Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany

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Thomas Walati Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin, Germany

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Thomas Wagner Institut für Umweltphysik, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

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Online Publication:
01 May 2013
Print Publication:
01 May 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00239.1
Page(s):
685–694
Restricted access

The formation of cloud droplets on aerosol particles, technically known as the activation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), is the fundamental process driving the interactions of aerosols with clouds and precipitation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Decadal Survey indicate that the uncertainty in how clouds adjust to aerosol perturbations dominates the uncertainty in the overall quantification of the radiative forcing attributable to human activities.

Measurements by current satellites allow the determination of crude profiles of cloud particle size, but not of the activated CCN that seed them. The Clouds, Hazards, and Aerosols Survey for Earth Researchers (CHASER) mission concept responds to the IPCC and Decadal Survey concerns, utilizing a new technique and high-heritage instruments to measure all the quantities necessary to produce the first global survey maps of activated CCN and the properties of the clouds associated with them. CHASER also determines the activated CCN concentration and cloud thermodynamic forcing simultaneously, allowing the effects of each to be distinguished.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Nilton O. Rennó, 2455 Hayward Street, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143, E-mail: renno@alum.mit.edu

A supplement to this article is available online (10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00239.2)

The formation of cloud droplets on aerosol particles, technically known as the activation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), is the fundamental process driving the interactions of aerosols with clouds and precipitation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Decadal Survey indicate that the uncertainty in how clouds adjust to aerosol perturbations dominates the uncertainty in the overall quantification of the radiative forcing attributable to human activities.

Measurements by current satellites allow the determination of crude profiles of cloud particle size, but not of the activated CCN that seed them. The Clouds, Hazards, and Aerosols Survey for Earth Researchers (CHASER) mission concept responds to the IPCC and Decadal Survey concerns, utilizing a new technique and high-heritage instruments to measure all the quantities necessary to produce the first global survey maps of activated CCN and the properties of the clouds associated with them. CHASER also determines the activated CCN concentration and cloud thermodynamic forcing simultaneously, allowing the effects of each to be distinguished.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Nilton O. Rennó, 2455 Hayward Street, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143, E-mail: renno@alum.mit.edu

A supplement to this article is available online (10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00239.2)

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