Title: Atmospheric Lidar for Cloud and Aerosol Measurements, and Growing Iowa’s Role in Earth Science Measurement Capability

Abstract: Clouds and aerosols affect the Earth’s environment in multiple ways. Primary impacts include radiative forcing and air quality. Lidar, or laser-based remote sensing, is a powerful tool for studying the Earth’s atmosphere. Lidar can provide information including height of cloud and aerosol layers, layer type, and optical depth – these are all parameters needed to improve weather, climate, aerosol, and air quality forecast models. This presentation combines an overview of my research developing airborne and spaceborne lidar instruments and a brief overview of atmospheric/environment research in the CBE department.