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Tamas Varnai

Tamas Varnai

Research Associate Professor

Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR) II
Physics

Nasa/Gsfc Location--Off Campus

Education

Ph D McGill University 1996

MS equivalent diploma Eotvos Lorand University 1989

varnai@umbc.edu

+1 301 614 6408

About

Prior to joining UMBC in 1999, Dr. Varnai worked as researcher at the Hungarian Meteorological Service, and as postdoctoral fellow at McGill University and at the University of Arizona.

Research Interests

Dr. Varnai’s research aims at improving our ability to measure the properties of clouds and atmospheric aerosols from space, and to use satellite data for better understanding the impact of clouds and aerosols on the solar heating of our planet. He is particularly interested in the way the three-dimensional nature of atmospheric radiative processes affects satellite observations, and in understanding the way atmospheric particle populations change in the vicinity of clouds. His work involves analyzing data from satellite instruments such as MODIS or CALIOP and airborne instruments such as THOR or CAR, and combining the data with theoretical simulations of radiative processes.

Selected Classes
  • Spring 2020 PHYS 640/440 – Computational Physics

Intellectual Contributions

Yang, Chen-Kuang, Chiu, Christine, Marshak, Alexander, Feingold, Graham, Varnai, Tamas, Wen, Guoyong, Yamaguchi, Takanobu, van Leeuwen, Peter Jan. (2022). . 49 e2022GL098274 Geophys. Res. Lett..

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2021). Analysis of near-cloud changes in atmospheric aerosols using satellite observations and global model simulations. Remote Sensing.

Gatebe, Charles K., Jethva, Hiren, Gautam, Ritesh, Poudyal, Rajesh, Varnai, Tamas. (2021). A new measurement approach for validating satellite-based above-cloud aerosol optical depth. 14 1405–1423, doi: 10.5194/amt-14-1405-2021 Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander, Kostinski, Alexander. (2021). Deep space observations of cloud glints: Spectral and seasonal dependence. IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett..

Kostinski, Alexander, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas. (2021). Deep space observations of terrestrial glitter. 8 e2020EA001521 Earth and Space Science.

Varnai, Tamas, Kostinski, Alexander, Marshak, Alexander. (2020). Deep space observations of sun glints from marine ice clouds. 17 IEEE Geosci. Rem. Sens. Lett..

Varnai, Tamas, Gatebe, Charles K., Gautam, Ritesh, Poudyal, Rajesh, Su, Wenying. (2019). Developing an aircraft-based angular distribution model of solar reflection from wildfire smoke to aid satellite-based radiative flux estimation. 1509. 11 doi:10.3390/rs11131509 Remote Sensing.

Wu, Dong L., Wang, Tao, Varnai, Tamas, Limbacher, Lames A., Kahn, Ralph A., Taha, Ghassan, Lee, Jae N., Gong, Jie, Yuan, Tianle. (2018). MISR radiance anomalies induced by stratospheric volcanic aerosols. 10 1875, doi:10.3390/rs10121875 Remote Sensing.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2018). Satellite observations of cloud-related variations in aerosol properties. 9 doi: 10.3390/atmos9110430 Atmosphere.

Fauchez, Thomas, Platnick, Steven, Varnai, Tamas, Meyer, Kerry, Cornet, Céline, Szczap, Frédéric. (2018). Scale dependence of cirrus heterogeneity effects. Part II: MODIS NIR and SWIR channels. 18 12105–12121, doi: 10.5194/acp-18-12105-2018 Atmos. Chem. Phys..

Yang, Weidong, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Knyazikhin, Yuri. (2018). EPIC spectral observations of variability in Earth's global reflectance. 10 doi:10.3390/rs10020254 Remote Sensing.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander, Eck, Thomas. (2017). Observation-based study on aerosol optical depth and particle size in partly cloudy regions. 122 doi: 10.1002/2017JD027028 J. Geophys. Res..

Fauchez, Thomas, Platnick, Steven, Meyer, Kerry, Cornet, Celine, Szczap, Frederic, Varnai, Tamas. (2017). Scale dependence of cirrus heterogeneity effects. Part I: MODIS thermal infrared channels. 17 8489-8508, doi: 10.5194/acp-17-8489-2017 Atmos. Chem. Phys..

Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Kostinski, Alexander. (2017). Terrestrial glint seen from deep space: oriented ice crystals detected from the Lagrangian point. 44 doi:10.1002/2017GL073248 Geophys. Res. Lett..

Wen, Guoyong, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Levy, Robert. (2016). Testing the two-layer model for correcting near cloud reflectance enhancement using LES/SHDOM simulated radiances. 121 9661–9674 Journal of Geophysical Research.

Gautam, Ritesh, Gatebe, Charles K., Singh, Manoj L., Varnai, Tamas, Poudyal, Rajesh. (2016). Radiative characteristics of clouds embedded in smoke derived from airborne multiangular measurements. 121 doi:10.1002/2016JD025309 J. Geophys. Res..

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2015). Effect of cloud fraction on near-cloud aerosol behavior in the MODIS atmospheric correction ocean color product. 7 5283-5299 Remote Sensing.

Yang, Weidong, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Wood, Robert. (2014). CALIPSO observations of near-cloud aerosol properties as a function of cloud fraction. 41 9150-9157 Geophys. Res. Lett..

Marshak, Alexander, Evans, K. Frank, Varnai, Tamas, Wen, Guoyong. (2014). Extending 3D near-cloud corrections from shorter to longer wavelengths. 147 79-85 J. Quant. Spect. Radiative Transfer.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2014). Near-cloud aerosol properties from the 1-km resolution MODIS ocean product. 3. 119 1546–1554 Journal of Geophysical Research.

Wen, Guoyong, Marshak, Alexander, Levy, Robert C., Remer, Lorraine A., Loeb, Norman G., Varnai, Tamas, Cahalan, Robert F. (2013). Improvement of MODIS aerosol retrievals near clouds. 118 9168–9181 Journal of Geophysical Research.

Yang, Weidong, Marshak, Alexander, Kostinski, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas. (2013). Shape-induced gravitational sorting of Saharan dust during transatlantic voyage: Evidence from CALIOP lidar depolarization measurements. 12. 40 3281-3286 Geophysical Research Letters.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander, Yang, Weidong. (2013). . 13 3899-3908 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Yang, Weidong, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Kalashnikova, Olga V., Kostinski, Alex B. (2012). CALIPSO observations of transatlantic dust: vertical stratification and effect of clouds. 12 11339-11354 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Chiu, J. Christine, Marshak, Alexander, Huang, Chiung-Huei, Varnai, Tamas, Hogan, Robin J., Giles, David M., Holben, Brent N., O'Connor, Ewan, Knyazikhin, Yuri, Wiscombe, Warren J. (2012). Cloud droplet size retrievals from zenith radiance measurements: examples from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program and the Aerosol Robotic Network. 12 10313-10329 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Yang, Weidong, Marshak, Alexander, Varnai, Tamas, Liu, Zhaoyan. (2012). Effect of CALIPSO cloud aerosol discrimination (CAD) confidence levels on observations of aerosol properties near clouds. 116 131-141 Atmospheric Research.

Gatebe, Charles K., Varnai, Tamas, Poudyal, Rajesh, Ichoku, Charles, King, Michael D. (2012). Taking the pulse of pyrocumulus clouds. 52 121-130 Atmospheric Environment.

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2012). Analysis of co-located MODIS and CALIPSO observations near clouds. 5 389-396 Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Pounder, Nicola L., Hogan, Robin J., Varnai, Tamas, Battaglia, Alessandro, Cahalan, Robert F. (2012). A variational method to retrieve the extinction profile in liquid clouds using multiple field-of-view lidar. 51 350-365 Journal of applied meteorology and climatology.

Yang, Yuekui, Marshak, Alexander, Palm, Stephen P., Varnai, Tamas, Wiscombe, Warren J. (2011). Cloud Impact on Surface Altimetry From a Spaceborne 532-nm Micropulse Photon-Counting Lidar: System Modeling for Cloudy and Clear Atmospheres. 49 4910-4919 IEEE Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens..

Wilson, Michael J., Oreopoulos, Lazaros, Varnai, Tamas. (2011). Implementation on Landsat data of a simple cloud mask algorithm developed for MODIS land bands. 99 597-601 IEEE Geosc. & Rem. Sens. Lett..

Varnai, Tamas, Marshak, Alexander. (2011). Global CALIPSO observations of aerosol changes near clouds. 8 19-23 IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett..

Ademakinwa, Adeleke, Tushar, Zahid H., Zheng, Jianyu, Wang, Chenxi, Purushotham, Sanjay, Wang, Jianwu, Meyer, Kerry, Varnai, Tamas, Zhang, Zhibo. . 24 3093–3114 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.