Atmospheric aerosol particles have large local impacts on climate yet, according to the IPCC,  contribute the largest uncertainty to radiative climate forcing estimates.

• The response of clouds to changes in aerosol properties is particularly sensitive in marine regions due to low particle number concentrations.
• Vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud properties in marine regions are required to improve climate models and decrease uncertainties in forcing estimates through validation and verification
• Shipboard launch and recovery of UASs with aerosol and cloud payloads will expand NOAA/CICOES’s shipboard surface measurements to include vertical profiles.  Field studies in 2022 (Key West, FL and Tillamook, OR) and 2023 (Vandenberg Space Force Base) continued the development of the payloads.