I will discuss why clouds are crucial to climate and climate change and why they remain one of the greatest challenge of climate science. I will first focus on the role of clouds for global climate change and the magnitude of global-mean warming. I will then discuss why the magnitude of global-mean warming is a crucial but insufficient metric for many changes at the regional scales, and highlight how clouds set regional , climate change by shaping the atmospheric circulation. Finally, I will discuss ongoing work that attempts to numerically represent the climate system at cloud-resolving scales, and how this promises to lead to both fundamental progress in solving the cloud puzzle and actionable climate science.
About the speaker
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Aiko Voigt holds the chair for climate science at the Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna. He and his research team “Climate Dynamics and Modelling” specialise on how clouds shape climate via their coupling to the circulation of the atmosphere.
Download PDF HERE
There is no registration required.
Wearing a face mask in public areas of the University of Vienna and at events is strongly recommended.