Early Stages in the Lifecycle of Polar Liquid-Bearing Clouds

DESCRIPTION: Dr. Gregory V. Cesana (PI, 0.85 total FTE over the 3-year proposed project (0.25 FTE/year in years 1 and 2; 0.35 FTE in year 3) is an expert on the use of CALIPSO observations and climate model evaluation. He is the developer of Global-Climate Model (GCM)-oriented Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Cloud Product (GOCCP) and the related cloud thermodynamic phase climatology product based on the Level 1B CALIPSO data. He will work on activity 1 of the proposed research to provide context for the ground-based measurements over the broader Arctic and on activity 5 to evaluate the state-of-the-art climate models against the ground-based and satellite observations. He will also help in the interpretation of cloud-radiation analysis and cloud phase related mechanisms throughout the whole project. Finally, he will collaborate with Dr. Silber in the writing of the related publications.