EUREC4A-UK project

Twin Otter aircraft, ready for EUREC4A! Based on photo by Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA

EUREC4A-UK is a programme of observational and modelling research which aims to study the detailed aerosol and cloud processes in the life cycle of shallow trade cumulus clouds and the two-way interactions between the cloud processes and the large-scale dynamics. The different responses of these clouds to warming in global climate models (GCM) explain most of the inter-model differences, yet the physics of these responses remains poorly constrained. The programme is focussed on the participation of UK scientists and the BAS Twin Otter aircraft in EUREC4A (Elucidating the Role of Clouds-Circulation Coupling in Climate). EUREC4A is a coordinated international campaign that aims to address the current lack of understanding of the processes controlling the response of trade-wind cumulus clouds to changing environmental conditions in a warmer climate. The goal of EUREC4A is to examine the interplay between the clouds, atmospheric circulations and climate sensitivity.