Howard W. Barker

Research Scientist - Improving Climate and Weather Prediction Models

Current research and/or projects

Contributing to Environment Canada’s mandate to improve climate and weather prediction models

  • Application of satellite data to improve the representation of clouds and radiative transfer in large-scale atmospheric models
  • Development of radiative transfer models for use in large-scale models; both climate and weather
  • Simulation of satellite measurements that are aimed at remote sensing of clouds

Key publications

Gabriel, P.,  H. W. Barker, D. O’Brien,  N. Ferlay and G. L. Stephens. 2009. Statistical Approaches to Plane-Parallel Error Identification and Retrievals of Optical and Microphysical Properties in 3D Clouds Part 1:  Bayesian Inference. J. Geophys. Res., 114, D06207, doi:10.1029/2008JD011005.

Barker, H.W. 2008. Representing Cloud Overlap with an Effective Decorrelation Length: An Assessment using CloudSat and CALIPSO Data. J. Geophys. Res., 113 , D24205, doi:10.1029/2008JD010391.

Barker, H. W., A. V. Korolev, D. R. Hudak, J. W. Strapp, K. B. Strawbridge and M. Wolde. 2008. A Comparison between CloudSat and Aircraft Data for a Multi-layer, Mixed-Phase Cloud System during C3VP. In press: J. Geophys. Res.,113 , D00A16, doi:10.1029/2008JD009971.

Cole, J.N.S., H.W. Barker, W. O’Hirok, E.E. Clothiaux, M.F. Khairoutdinov and D.A. Randall. 2005. Atmospheric radiative transfer through global arrays of 2D clouds. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32. [doi:10.1029/2005GL023329]

Pincus, R., H.W. Barker and J.-J. Morcrette. 2003. A fast, flexible, approximate technique for computing radiative transfer in inhomogeneous cloud fields. J. Geophys. Res. 108(D13): 4376. [doi:10.1029/2002JD003322].

Barker, H.W., G.L. Stephens, et al. 2003. Assessing 1D atmospheric solar radiative transfer models: interpretation and handling of unresolved clouds. J. Climate 16: 2676-2699.

Barker, H.W. and A. Davis, 2005: Approximation Methods in Atmospheric 3D Radiative Transfer, Part 2: Unresolved Variability and Climate. pg. 343-384 in Three-dimensional Cloud Structure and Radiative Transfer. Eds. A. Marshak and A., Davis. Springer-Verlag, 686pp.

Barker, H.W. 2007. Radiative transfer and global climate modelling, p. 3-57. In Light Scattering Review – Vol. 2. A. Kokhanovsky (ed.). Praxis Publ. Ltd. 351 p.