Nearly a year after its launch, 28 April 2006, the French - U.S.A. mission CALIPSO collected numerous measurements of the structure of Earth’s atmosphere in unprecedented detail. Equiped with a sort of optical radar, Calipso is designed to identify the impact of clouds and aerosols on climate change.
In latest IPCC Climate Change report (SPM) the level of scientific understanding regarding anthropogenic aerosols is between low and medium low. The radiative forcing of the cloud albedo effect ranges from -1.8 to -0.3 Wm-2. A better understanding would lead to more accurate models and projections.
Calipso data are available via NASA’s Langley Research Center or via the French ICARE data centre dedicated to the study of interactions between clouds, aerosols, radiation and the water cycle.
Picture above shows data captured 11 February 2007 at around 2:00 UTC over Europe and Arctic Sea.
cnes.fr: Climate - Calipso science data now available to scientists worldwide
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