Radiative fluxes are the forcing functions of the climate system and are responsible for the maintenance of atmospheric motions. The exchange of energy from radiation fluxes to other forms of energy, such as sensible and latent heat fluxes, occurs at the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is of interest, to have information on surface radiative fluxes and thier variability. This can enable scientists to improve parametrization of surface-atmosphere interactions, to validate climate models, and to better understand the hydrological cycle. The use of climate models for simulating plausible climate change scenarios, requires improved capabilities in respect to hydrologic modeling and in assessing the effects of increased greenhouse gases.
Earth orbiting satellites are well suited to provide a global view of our climate.
Professor Pinker and her associates in the Department of Meteorology, Drs. I. Laszlo, G. Pandithurai, Xu Li, and graduate students, participate in several national and international projects, aimed at improving the understanding of the climate system. These activities are linked to efforts at other institutions. The derived information is used in a wide range of applications, such as evaluation of numerical models, estimation of energy budgets, and snow melt modeling. It is hoped that this approach will reduce the errors in the storage of soil moisture and energy which are often present in NWP models and which degrade the accuracy of forecasts.