This research volume outlines the scientific foundations that are central to our current understanding of light scattering, absorption and polarization processes involving ice crystals. It also demonstrates how data from satellite remote sensing of cirrus clouds can be combined with radiation parameterizations in climate models to estimate the role of these clouds in temperature and precipitation responses to climate change. Providing a balanced treatment of the fundamentals and applications, this book synthesizes the authors' own work, as well as that of other leading researchers in this area. Numerous illustrations are included, including three-dimensional schematics, to provide a concise discussion of the subject and enable easy visualization of the key concepts. This book is intended for active researchers and advanced graduate students in atmospheric science, climatology, and remote sensing, as well as scholars in related fields such as ice microphysics, electromagnetic wave propagation, geometric optics, radiative transfer and cloud-climate interactions.

This book contains 22 peer-reviewed articles that cover a spectrum of contemporary subjects relevant to atmospheric sciences, with specific applications to the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these papers consist of a review of a scientific sub-field in atmospheric sciences, while some contain original contributions. All of the accepted papers were subject to scientific reviews and revisions.The book is divided into 2 traditional fields in atmospheric sciences: atmospheric dynamics and meteorology; and atmospheric physics and chemistry. The authors of these papers are distinguished alumni of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the National Taiwan University, residing in the USA and Taiwan. This book is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences that occurred in 2004.Papers in atmospheric dynamics and meteorology cover the following subjects: El Nino/Southern Oscillation, air/sea interactions, convection in the tropics, meiyu frontal systems, tropical cyclones/typhoons, data assimilations, and mesoscale modeling. In atmospheric physics and chemistry, subjects range from aerosols/clouds interactions, heat budgets in the context of air/sea interactions, atmospheric radiative transfer, remote sensing of the oceans, Asian dust outbreaks and clouds, reviews of cloud microphysics and urban ozone formations, to a satellite GPS system for typhoon studies and weather predictions.