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Climate Physics Lab (Atmospheric Radiation Observation Section)
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A lab that investigates the roles of clouds and aerosols in climate through observation and theory.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding climate through clouds and aerosols.
The lab studies the roles that clouds and aerosols play in climate change, from both theoretical and observational perspectives.
The distribution and properties of clouds and aerosols influence the heating and cooling of the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, as well as the Earth's radiation budget.
The lab makes observations using radiometers, cloud radar, and lidar on satellites, on the ground, and on ships, and also pursues fundamental research such as the development of three-dimensional radiative transfer models.
It aims to improve climate prediction models by linking insights from observations and data analysis with theory.
Key terms
- Aerosols
- Small particles suspended in the atmosphere. Together with clouds, they are studied as atmospheric components that affect climate
- Radiative transfer model
- A model that calculates how light travels through the atmosphere while being scattered and absorbed
- Cloud optical thickness
- A quantity that expresses how much a cloud blocks the passage of light
NewsLab news
A paper by Prof. Iwabuchi and colleagues was published in Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
A paper by Prof. Hayasaka, Deputy Executive Director, and colleagues was published in Journal of Climate
A paper by Prof. Hayasaka, Deputy Executive Director, and colleagues was published in the Journal of the Remote Sensing Society of Japan
A paper by Prof. Iwabuchi and colleagues was published in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
A doctoral student received the Best Poster Award for Young Researcher at the International Radiation Symposium 2024
ResearchResearch themes
The distribution and properties of clouds and aerosols influence the heating and cooling of the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, as well as the Earth's radiation budget, but they are not yet well understood, and uncertainty remains in predictions of climate change. By combining observations from satellites, the ground, and ships, data analysis, and the development of three-dimensional radiative transfer models, the lab aims to clarify the roles of clouds and aerosols and to improve climate prediction models.
*Illustrative imageDiurnal variation of clouds associated with the Baiu front
Diurnal variations of clouds and precipitation associated with the Baiu front have regional characteristics, but the diurnal variation of optically thin high clouds is not well understood. Using cloud physical properties estimated from Himawari-8 infrared observations, the lab worked on clarifying the overall characteristics of the diurnal variation (the description on the lab website dates from around 2022).
*Illustrative imageEstimating clouds with ground-based radiometers
Verifying the quality of cloud data observed by satellites is one of the challenges of cloud remote sensing. Because ground-based observations are useful for this verification, the lab works on methods to estimate cloud properties from zenith spectral radiance measured with a sky radiometer (the description on the lab website dates from around 2020).
*Illustrative imageClouds and atmospheric circulation over the winter northwestern Pacific
It is known that in the winter northwestern Pacific, the descending branch of the Hadley circulation is climatologically located near 35°N and has shifted poleward since the late 1970s. The lab investigated how clouds and their radiative effects respond to this shift of the descending branch.
*Illustrative imageObserving clouds from the ground with deep learning
The distribution of cloud optical thickness is useful for forecasting and diagnosing solar power generation, but it is difficult to observe because the three-dimensional propagation of light must be taken into account. The lab proposes a method of training a deep convolutional neural network based on a three-dimensional radiative transfer model.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Climate Physics Lab consist of faculty members, administrative assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHironobu Iwabuchi
- ProfessorTadahiro Hayasaka
- Assistant ProfessorSouichiro Hioki
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Cumulus congestus cloud in sky” Piyushv99 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Diurnal variation of clouds associated with the Baiu front: “Himawari-8 Sees Rain Clouds Over Indonesia as Monsoon Season Comes to a Close (NESDIS )” NOAA / Public domain (cropped)
- Estimating clouds with ground-based radiometers: “Forrest M. Mims III on the 25th anniversary of his atmospheric measurements (1990 to 2016)” Minnie C. Mims (wife of Forrest Mims) / Public domain (cropped)
- Clouds and atmospheric circulation over the winter northwestern Pacific: “ISS034E016601 - Stratocumulus Clouds - Pacific Ocean” ISS Expedition 34 Crew Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center Derivative work including grading, lens profile correction and noise removal.: Julian Herzog / Public domain (cropped)
- Observing clouds from the ground with deep learning: “Sky 20260926” Christopher J. Fynn / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics Lab): “Cumulonimbus sunset panorama, Albury NSW Australia” Thennicke / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Oceanography Lab): “Anton Dohrn am Liegeplatz in Bremerhaven” Manfred Stein / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped)
- Related lab (Seismology and Volcanology Lab): “Ash Plume and Ash Fall of May 1994 Eruption of Mount Pagan volcano in Northern Mariana Islands” Frank Trusdell, USGS. / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Satellite Oceanography Lab (Ocean Environment Observation Section)): “NASA satellite view of Southern Ocean phytoplankton bloom (crop)” NASA Suomi NPP satellite / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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