User consultation

GlobCloud preparatory User Consultation

The FUB,KNMI and ESA are organizing a joint workshop on satellite cloud retrievals and their applications in climate modelling, meteorological forecasting, and atmospheric composition retrieval algorithms.

Workshop "Clouds: from satellite observations to atmospheric modelling"
March 25-27, 2009, Free University, Berlin, Germany

Objectives
Clouds are important modulators in the Earth’s climate system, but are not well enough understood to fully quantify their influence on climate or accurately predict them in weather forecasts. The current focus on clouds in climate, weather and atmospheric composition research is stimulated by new and exciting space-borne cloud radar and lidar data. At the same time efforts are ongoing to revisit and reprocess data from satellite cloud sensors (e.g. GEWEX cloud assessment meetings, or cloud parameter retrieval workshops).
The objective of this workshop is to strengthen the links between the cloud remote sensing community and the atmospheric modelling community, by aiming for a better understanding of what cloud information is required in global and regional atmospheric modelling, in weather and climate research, and in atmospheric composition research. The workshop will also address the availability and capabilities of satellite based cloud products.

The workshop will focus on satellite cloud data, primarily from European satellite platforms (e.g. Envisat, Metop, Meteosat) and ESA third party missions, and how they are used:

to improve cloud parameterizations in weather and climate models
to assimilate satellite data in models
to validate weather and climate models
to study trends in cloud properties
to improve cloud detection and characterization for atmospheric composition and surface retrieval algorithms

The workshop will also identify the user requirements for the GlobCloud project of ESA.

Programme
The workshop format will consist of 30-minute oral presentations (including 10 minutes for discussion) directly addressing the outlined themes, and a poster session. The workshop will have a maximum size of about 60 participants.
The invited speakers are
Dr. Michael King (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, USA) – on satellite observations of clouds
Dr. Peter Bauer (ECMWF, Reading, UK) – on data assimilation of clouds
Dr. Bjorn Stevens (MPI Hamburg, Germany) – on modelling of clouds

Organisers

Prof. Dr. Juergen Fischer (Free University Berlin, FUB)
Dr. Piet Stammes (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, KNMI)
Dr. Bojan R. Bojkov (European Space Agency, ESA/ESRIN)

Programme and presentations from the Workshop:

Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Chair: Ralf Bennartz

13:00	Welcome
13:05	The ESA Glob Project series Bojan Bojkov (ESA)
13:15	ESA’s Earthcare mission Tobias Wehr (ESA)
13:30	From radiation to cloud physics (invited talk) Jean-L. Brenguier (Meteo France)
14:15	Cloud modelling (invited talk) Björn Stevens (MPI Hamburg/UCLA)
15:00	Break
15:30	Using satellite cloud observations in the development, evaluation and application of climate models Mark Ringer (UKMO)
16:00	Cloud microphysical parameterizations in global and regional numerical weather prediction models Axel Seifert (DWD)
16:30	Break
17:00	Assimilation of satellite data (invited talk) Peter Bauer (ECMWF)
17:45	How much can the assimilation of cloud observations improve the skill of weather forecasts? (invited talk) Robert Pincus (NOAA)
18:30	Icebreaker

Thursday, 26 March 2009
Chair: Jean-Louis Brenguier

09:00	Towards a standard procedure for validation of satellite-derived and modeled cloud liquid water path Wouter Greuell (KNMI)
09:30	Cloud radiative effects over the Atlantic Andreas Macke (Univ. Kiel)
10:00	Cloud microphysical measurements from surface and space Susanne Crewell (Univ. Bonn)
10:30	Break
11:00	Progress in making cloud climate records from AVHRR Andy Heidinger (NOAA)
11:30	Cloud effects on the Earth’s energy budget Stefan Kinne (MPI Hamburg)
12:00	Global Cloud Type Distribution from GOME/ERS-2 and GOME-2/MetOp Diego Loyola (DLR)
12:30	Lunch

Chair: Björn Stevens

14:00	Cloud retrieval from (A)ATSR, MISR and MODIS Jan-Peter Muller (Univ. London)
14:30	Cirrus, Contrails and Indirect Effects of Ice Nuclei Modelling and Validation Ulrike Burkhart (DLR)
15:00	What did we achieve from global cloud satellite observations? Claudia Stubenrauch (LMD)
15:30	Break
16:00	EUMETSAT's Network of Satellite Application Facilities Lothar Schüller (EUMETSAT)
16:30	Global analysis of cloud properties Jörg Schulz (DWD)
17:00	Cloud information needed for atmospheric chemistry Piet Stammes (KNMI)
18:00	Poster session (with drinks and food) - List of posters

Friday, 27 March 2009
Chair: Peter Bauer

09:00	Outcome of the Locarno cloud algorithm workshop Rob Roebeling (KNMI)
09:30	Sciamachy cloud products Alex Kokhanovsky (Univ. Bremen)
10:00	MERIS cloud products and Sentinel 3 perspective René Preusker (Univ. Berlin)
10:30	Break
11:00	AATSR cloud products Caroline Poulsen (RAL)
11:30	Remote sensing of clouds (invited talk) Ralf Bennartz (CSU)
12.15	Lunch

Chairs: Juergen Fischer/Piet Stammes

14:00	Panel discussion: Modelling and data assimilation
14:30	Panel discussion: Satellite data
15:00	Panel discussion: Recommendations
15:45	Bojan Bojkov Final remarks by ESA
16:00	End of workshop