Detection of aerosol-cirrus cloud interactions in satellite data: process-oriented approach

Project

To analyse the satellite record of cirrus clouds with respect to a possible signal of aerosol perturbations such as that associated with volcanic eruptions like Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 or Nabro in 2011. Because of the very low signal to noise ratio, it is not yet clear if aerosol perturbations can significantly affect cirrus cloud frequency and their microphysical properties, either directly through the emission of sulphur dioxide or semi-directly via the changes in upper tropospheric stability. Advanced machine learning techniques will be used to address these scientific questions. 

Supervisors

Ulrike Lohmann (supervisor), Gustau Camps-Valls (co-supervisor), Niall Robinson (MetOffice, non-academic advisor)

Secondments

6 months at University of Valencia & 3 months at MetOffice Informatics Lab  

Enrolment in Doctoral degree

PhD in Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich