Remote Sensing

My research involves scientific disciplines of ground- and satellite-based remote sensing of clouds with an emphasis on trying to understand the impact of clouds on the radiation budget of the Earth. I have worked with wind-profiler radars, high-frequency short-wavelength cloud radars, micro-pulse lidar, and microwave radiometers. Collectively, these instruments are at the core of ground-based retrievals of cloud properties. Understanding the impact of cloud properties on the radiation budget of the Earth is an important topic in current numerical weather prediction and climate change research. I have translated results from ground-based retrieval research into many collaborative ventures related to the energy budget of the Earth, including studies on clear-sky radiative transfer, cirrus properties, and photon path length within the oxygen A-band.

Dr. Young focuses on the synergistic use of space-borne synthetic aperature radar, scatterometer, and high-resolution multi-spectral imagery to diagnose the sturcture and dynamics of mesoscale and boundary layer phenomena, particularly in the marine environment.