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The Southern Alps Experiment is being mounted to study the influence of New Zealand's Southern Alps on local weather and climate. This paper describes these alpine influences and outlines proposed field and modeling experiments. Experiment goals include understanding and quantifying factors that govern the intensity and spatial distribution of heavy rainfall, the west to east distribution of precipitation across the mountains, and the intensity of lee wind storms and warming. Linked research will explore the use of deterministic rainfall models to predict river flows from mountain watersheds.

Abstract. The limited accuracy of current cloud microphysics sensors used in cirrus cloud studies imposes limitations on the use of the data to examine the cloud's broadband radiative behaviour, an important element of the global energy balance. We review the limitations of the instruments, PMS probes, most widely used for measuring the microphysical structure of cirrus clouds and show the eect of these limitations on descriptions of the cloud radiative properties. The analysis is applied to measurements made as part of the European Cloud and Radiation Experiment (EUCREX) to determine mid-latitude cirrus microphysical and radiative properties.

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