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 Aerosol and Cloud Science: People
Anthony B. Davis's Picture
Address:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
M/S 169-237
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone:
818.354.0450
Email:
Curriculum Vitae:

Anthony B. Davis

Education
  • PhD, Physics, McGill University (1992)
  • MS, Physics, Université de Montréal (1980)
  • BSc, Physics, Université Pierre & Marie Curie/Paris VI (1977)
Research Interests
  • Remote sensing signal physics applied to the Earth's cloudy atmosphere.
  • Constrained 3D cloud shape reconstruction using multi-pixel/multi-angle observations.
  • Multi-spectral 1D and 3D retrievals of cloud and aerosol properties using polarization.
  • Cloud probing with multiple-scattering/wide-field-of-view lidar.
  • Cloud property retrieval using high-resolution oxygen A-band spectroscopy.
  • Theoretical and computational radiative transfer in spatially complex scenes (3D clouds, cloud/surface systems and/or rough terrain), steady-state or time-dependent.
  • Optical diagnostics and radiation energetics for realistic 3D clouds and cloud systems.
  • Climate impact of clouds through radiation and hydrology, and their interaction with aerosols.
  • Multi-scale/fractal and multi-moment statistics of nonlinear atmospheric processes using wavelets, emphasizing cloud formation, evolution, and precipitation.
  • Sampling issues, such as ground-based stations versus satellite platforms.
  • Cloud-process model validation using remote sensing data.
Projects

MISR Icon MISR
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument provides a unique opportunity for studying the environment and climate of Earth through the acquisition of global multiangle imagery on the daylit side of Earth.

I3RC Icon I3RC
The Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes (I3RC) is an ongoing grassroots project in the international atmospheric 3D radiative transfer community focused on creating benchmarks for and verifying their computational models.

AirMSPI Icon AirMSPI
The Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) instrument flies aboard NASA's ER-2 high altitude aircraft.

Professional Experience
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Research Scientist (2009-Present)
  • UCLA ¬ JIFRESSE, Visiting Research Scientist (2010-Present)
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Guest Scientist, Space Data Systems Group (2010-Present)
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Technical Staff Member, Space & Remote Sensing Group (1997-2009)
  • NASA ¬ Goddard Space Flight Center, Visiting Scientist and contractor (SSAI), Climate & Radiation Branch (1992-1997)
  • etc.
Selected Publications
  • A. Marshak and A.B. Davis (Eds.), 3D Radiative Transfer in Cloudy Atmosphere, XII+686 pp, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany (2005). [Springer] [Amazon]
  • Selected from 49 refereed journal articles and 47 peer-reviewed contributions to edited volumes:
  1. F. Xu, A.B. Davis, R.A. West, and L.W. Esposito, Markov Chain formalism for polarized light transfer in plane-parallel atmospheres, with numerical comparison to the Monte Carlo method, Optics Express, 19, 946-967, doi:10.1364/OE.19.000946 (2011). [a bstract+PDF]
  2. A.B. Davis and A. Marshak, Solar radiation transport in the cloudy atmosphere: A 3D Perspective on observations and climate impacts, Rep. Prog. Phys., 73, 026801 (70 pp), doi:10.1088034-4885/73/226801 (2010). [PDF]
  3. A.B. Davis, I.N. Polonsky, and A. Marshak, Space-time Green functions for diffusive radiation transport, in application to active and passive cloud probing, in Light Scattering Reviews, Vol. 4, A. Kohkanovsky (Ed.), Springer, Heidelberg (Germany), pp. 169-292 (2009). [PDF]
  4. D. Sornette, A.B. Davis, K. Ide, K.R. Vixie, V. Pisarenko, and J.R. Kamm, An algorithm for validation: Theory and application, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 104, 6562-6567, doi:10.1073/pnas.0611677104 (2007). [PNAS] [e-suppl ] [arXiv]
  5. A.B. Davis, Multiple-scattering lidar from both sides of the clouds: Addressing internal structure, J. Geophys. Res. (Special Issue for Yoram J. Kaufman Symposium on Aerosols, Clouds, and Climate), 113, D14S10, doi:10.1029/2007JD009666 (2007). [PDF] [e-suppl]
  6. T. Scholl, K. Pfeilsticker, A.B. Davis, H. Klein Baltink, S. Crewell, U. Löhnert, C. Simmer, J. Meywerk, and M. Quante, Path length distributions for solar photons under cloudy skies: Comparison of measured first and second moments with predictions from classical and anomalous diffusion theories, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D12211, doi:10.1029/2004JD005707 (2006). [PDF]
  7. A.B. Davis, Effective propagation kernels in structured media with broad spatial correlations, illustration with large-scale transport of solar photons through cloudy atmospheres, in Computational Methods in Transport - Granlibakken 2004 (Lecture Notes in Computational Science and Engineering, vol. 48), F. Graziani (Ed.), Springer, New York (NY), pp. 85-140 (2006). [PDF]
  8. R.F. Cahalan, L. Oreopoulos, A. Marshak, K.F. Evans, A.B. Davis, R. Pincus, K. Yetzer, B. Mayer, R. Davies, and I3RC participants, The international Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes (I3RC): Bringing together the most advanced radiative transfer tools for cloudy atmospheres, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 86, 1275-1293 (2005). [PDF]
  9. I.N. Polonsky, S.P. Love, and A. B. Davis, The Wide-Angle Imaging Lidar (WAIL) deployment at the ARM Southern Great Plains site: Intercomparison of cloud property retrievals, J. Atmos. and Oceanic Technol., 22, 628-648 (2005). [PDF]
  10. I.N. Polonsky and A.B. Davis, Lateral photon transport in dense scattering and weakly-absorbing media of finite thickness: Asymptotic analysis of the space-time Green function, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, 21, 1018-1025 (2004). [PDF]
  11. A.B. Davis and A. Marshak, Photon propagation in heterogeneous optical media with spatial correlations: Enhanced mean-free-paths and wider-than-exponential free-path distributions, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Rad. Transf., 84, 3-34 (2004). [PDF]
  12. A.B. Davis, Cloud remote sensing with sideways-looks: Theory and first results using multispectral thermal imager data, in S.P.I.E. Proceedings, Vol. 4725: "Algorithms for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery VIII," S. S. Shen and P. E. Lewis (Eds.), pp. 397-405 (2002). [PDF]
  13. A.B. Davis and A. Marshak, Space-time characteristics of light transmitted through dense clouds, A Green function analysis, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 2714-2728 (2002). [PDF]
  14. C. von Savigny, A.B. Davis, O. Funk, and K. Pfeilsticker, Time-series of zenith radiance and surface flux under cloudy skies: Radiative smoothing, optical thickness retrievals and large-scale stationarity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1825-1828 (2002). [PDF]
  15. A.B. Davis and A. Marshak, Multiple scattering in clouds: Insights from three-dimensional diffusion/P1 theory, Nucl. Sci. Eng., Special Issue "In memoriam G. C. Pomraning," 137, 251-280 (2001). [PDF]
  16. A.B. Davis, R.F. Cahalan, J.D. Spinhirne, M.J. McGill, and S.P. Love, Off-beam lidar: An emerging technique in cloud remote sensing based on radiative Green-function theory in the diffusion domain, Phys. Chem. Earth (B), 24, 177-185, Erratum 757-765 (1999). [PDF]
  17. A.B. Davis, A. Marshak, H. Gerber, and W.J. Wiscombe, Horizontal structure of marine boundary layer clouds from centimeter to kilometer scales, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 6123-6144 (1999). [PDF]
  18. A.B. Davis, A. Marshak, and E.E. Clothiaux, Anisotropic multi-resolution analysis in 2D, Application to long-range correlations in cloud mm-radar fields, in S.P.I.E. Proceedings, Vol. 3723: "Wavelet Applications VI," H. H. Szu (Ed.), pp. 194-207 (1999). [PDF]
  19. A. Marshak, A. Davis, R. Cahalan, and W. Wiscombe, Nonlocal Independent Pixel Approximation, direct and inverse problems, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 36, 192-205 (1998). [PDF]
  20. A. Davis and A. Marshak, Lévy kinetics in slab geometry: Scaling of transmission probability, in Fractal Frontiers, M. M. Novak and T. G. Dewey (Eds.), World Scientific, Singapore, pp. 63-72 (1997). [PDF]
  21. A. Davis, A. Marshak, R.F. Cahalan, and W.J. Wiscombe, The Landsat scale-break in stratocumulus as a three-dimensional radiative transfer effect, Implications for cloud remote sensing, J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 241-260 (1997). [PDF]
  22. A. Marshak, A. Davis, W.J. Wiscombe, and R.F. Cahalan, Scale-invariance of liquid water distributions in marine stratocumulus, Part 2: Multifractal properties and intermittency issues, J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 1423-1444 (1997). [PDF]
  23. A. Davis, A. Marshak, W.J. Wiscombe, and R.F. Cahalan, Scale-invariance of liquid water distributions in marine stratocumulus, Part 1: Spectral properties and stationarity issues, J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 1538-1558 (1996). [PDF]
  24. A. Davis, A. Marshak, W.J. Wiscombe, and R.F. Cahalan, Multifractal characterizations of intermittent and nonstationary geophysical signals - A model-based perspective on ergodicity issues illustrated with cloud data, in Current Topics in Nonstationary Analysis, G. Treviño, J. Hardin, B. Douglas, and E. Andreas (Eds.), World Scientific, Singapore, pp. 97-158 (1996). [PDF]
  25. Marshak, A., A. Davis, W. Wiscombe, and R. F. Cahalan, Radiative smoothing in fractal clouds. J. Geophys. Res. (Atmos.), 100, 26247-26261 (1995). [PDF]
  26. A. Davis, A. Marshak, W.J. Wiscombe, and R.F. Cahalan, Multifractal characterizations of nonstationarity and intermittency in geophysical fields, observed, retrieved or simulated, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 8055-8072 (1994). [PDF]
  27. A. Marshak, A. Davis, R.F. Cahalan, and W.J. Wiscombe, Bounded cascade models as nonstationary multifractals, Phys. Rev. E, 49, 55-69 (1994). [PDF]
  28. A. Davis, A. Marshak, and W. Wiscombe, Wavelet-based multifractal analysis of non-stationary and/or intermittent geophysical signals, in Wavelets in Geophysics, E. Foufoula-Georgiou and Kumar (Eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, Ca, pp. 249-298 (1994).
  29. A. Davis, P. Gabriel, S. Lovejoy, D. Schertzer, and G.L. Austin, Discrete angle radiative transfer - Part III: Numerical results and meteorological applications, J. Geophys. Res., 95, 11729-11742 (1990). [PDF]

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