When   Tuesday, March 3, 2009   Time   2:00 PM - 3:00 PM  
Where   Technological Instit M 416 2145 Sheridan Rd.   map it
Audience   - Faculty/Staff - Student - Public
Contact   Molly E Scanlon   +1 847 491 5586  
Group   McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics

Applied Math Colloquium

Title: Clouds and Climates

Speaker: Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert, University of Chicago

Abstract:

The term "cloud" refers to a collection of particles of condensible substance in an atmosphere which are small enough to remain in suspension for a long time. The optical effects of clouds on the shortwave and longwave radiation budget of planets poses a severe challenge for studies of climate. This is not limited to the present and near-future climate of Earth, but also to deep-time past climate studies and to studies of planetary climate, including both the runaway greenhouse effect which determines the inner limit of habitability about a star, and the possibility of deglaciating a Snowball Earth state which in part determines the outer limit.

The nature of cloud effects on climate is surveyed, as well as the basic physics governing the composition and structure of clouds and the factors governing their climate feedbacks.

Special Note: Please note unusual time and day.