Due to the complex spatiotemporal and physical properties of clouds, their quantitative depictions in different atmospheric reanalysis datasets are still highly uncertain. A radiance-based evaluation approach is developed to evaluate the quality of cloud properties by directly comparing them with satellite radiance observations. ERA5 and CRA are found to have great capability in representing the cloudy atmosphere over East Asia, and MERRA-2 tends to slightly overestimate clouds over the region.

Laboratory and in-flight evaluations of uncertainties of measurements from a cloud droplet probe are presented. This study extends results of earlier studies by examining instrument response over a greater range of droplet sizes throughout the entire sample volume. Errors in droplet sizing based on the laboratory measurements tend to be less than 10 %, significantly less than typically quoted sizing accuracy for this class of instrument.

Measurements of ice cloud particle populations are needed to improve climate and weather prediction. This paper makes a comparison between ice cloud particle populations measured using two different airborne cloud particle probes. It is concluded that measurements of particle populations from older probes are similar to those from newer probes, except in total numbers of particles counted. Therefore, more airborne studies of ice clouds need to be made using newer cloud particle probes.