Over the decades many studies have contributed to our knowledge of cirrus clouds but few campaigns prior to the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers – Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) in 2002 have gotten corresponding data from satellite, airborne and ground based remote sensing platforms as well as in situ measurements. The lack of a wide variety of data makes it difficult to presume that our cloud models have been accurate. In order to improve our models to the amount of accuracy we desire, more work must be done so that the generation mechanisms, temperature, altitude, spacial inhomogeneities of ice water content (IWC) and particle size (Dge) of cirrus anvil clouds are properly assessed.

Data derived from the ER-2 high altitude duel wavelength radar and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) sensor during CRYSTAL-FACE in 2002 was processed and analyzed. Several separate cirrus anvils were studied in order to evaluate the affect that the environmental wind shear, convection intensity and moisture content has on the spacial distribution, the vertical and horizontal microphysical structure, and consequently the radiative balance in the immediate locality of the anvil as the cloud evolved.