Welcome to the Laboratory for Aerosols, Clouds, and Optics!
The Laboratory for Aerosols, Clouds, and Optics (LACO) is composed by faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, and associated members that participate in activities between UMBC and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Several of our associated members have offices at NASA GSFC and UMBC.
Our main interests surround the effect of aerosol particles on cloud formation, development, lifetime, and precipitation. Aerosols influence clouds through microphysical and radiative effects. The scientific interests of our group involve:
- Microphysical analysis of aerosol (with in-situ, ground-based, aircraft, laboratory, and satellite remote sensing measurements) and cloud ice and water particles (using in situ aircraft, laboratory experiments with ice and water, and remote sensing via satellite, aircraft, and ground-based systems)
- Development of new instrumentation and algorithms for laboratory and field measurements from the ground, mountaintop, aircraft, and satellite sensors.
- Modeling of the radiative properties of aerosol and cloud particles, including the 3D properties of cloud fields and its effects on the radiative balance of the atmosphere.
- Spectroscopy of aerosol particles from the deep UV (200nm) to the NIR (2500nm).
External Associations
