9414172 Hobbs This project is an airborne study of arctic stratus clouds with the objective of obtaining several comprehensive sets of simultaneous measurements of their microstructure and spectral radiative properties. Such concurrent measurements are basic to the improvement of current models of radiative properties of stratus clouds. These models in turn are a crucial component of global circulation models which form an important basis for global change studies. The development of optimized radiative forcing algorithms is the objective of a major research effort. Additional objectives of this project are to measure the spectral reflective properties of various arctic surfaces such as tundra, open ocean, and melting and refreezing sea ice, and to test a new approach for distinguishing water clouds from snow and ice surfaces. The observations will be made from a Convair C-131A aircraft configured specifically for airborne research. ***
