Clouds and Precipitation Impacts on the Climate in Polar Regions
In the polar regions, clouds have a large impact on climate, especially during polar winter when the sun disappears. In the Arctic, Dr. Veron, along with Dr. Helga Huntely and former students Michael Previdi, Neil Barton and Michalea King, have been investigating the interactions through the use of satellite data and regional models (PolarMMS, PolarWRF, and RACMO). The presence of low-level clouds in the Arctic appears to slow down the formation of sea ice (Barton and Veron). We also found that the volume loss of sea ice over the summer is related to downwelling longwave radiation in March, and early summer cloud radiative forcing.
Dr. Veron has traveled to the East Antarctic Plateau as part of the CALVA project (Calibration and Validation of Satellites and Models) to make observations of the unique environment on top of the glacial plateau where temperatures are typically around -45 C. These long-term observations allow scientists to better characterize and learn about atmospheric boundary layer processes in this extreme setting. In her most recent trip to Antarctica, Dr. Veron focused her work on the occurence of low-level liquid water clouds and fog. Dr. Veron and former student Alex Schroth are also modeling these changes in the boundary layer during the Antarctic summer (Schroth 2016).
https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2019/september/researching-climate-in-Antarctica/