Accurate knowledge of vertical distributions of aerosol and cloud fields and their space-time variations are required to
reduce the uncertainty in estimated climate forcing. Here, multi-sensor (both passive and active) data were used to
construct the climatology of 3-D cloud and aerosol fields over the Indian monsoon region. Multilayer clouds are found to
persist throughout the year, among which cumulus and stratocumulus dominate the low clouds and cirrus dominates the
high clouds. A combination of passive stereo-technique (MISR) and radiometric technique (ISCPP) captures the
multilayer cloud structure as revealed by active sensor CALIOP. Coexistence of low clouds throughout the year with
high aerosol concentration beneath and above leads to a transition from increasing to decreasing cloud fraction with an
increase in aerosol optical depth. Such transition is rapid in the monsoon season due to convergence of low clouds to
form high clouds facilitated by high aerosol loading. Further, the regional climate model RegCM 4.1 has been used to
examine aerosol-cloud interaction. The aerosol-induced changes of low cloud amount are under-estimated by the model.
The observation-based seasonal climatology of aerosol and cloud fields presented here may help in improving the model
simulations of cloud variability and associated rainfall.
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