Formulating research interests — context/motivation or not? How do I formulate research interests in my CV?  When talking about my field, I like to include some context, such as:


  The climate of planet Earth is a complex system. Detailed observations are needed for improving our understanding of individual components and their interaction. Additionally, long-term, large-scale monitoring is required to study the climate system in its entirety. Observations from space are important for both kinds of observations. I am particularly interested in applying space-based observations the atmosphere, for example, for the hydrological cycle. Additionally, I think foo is important because of bar, and would like to research foo deeper.


But on a CV, space and attention are scarce.  An alternative would be:


  
  Space-based observations of the atmosphere
  Foo
  


But this appears a bit bald to me.  I think the context, the motivation, should be relevant: why are my research interests as they are?

What is a better alternative for describing research interests on a CV?
Don't even use bullets; just provide a list of keywords/phrases identifying your subfield.  At least in the US, departments ask for a separate research statement in addition to your CV.  That's the place to explain your research interests in detail and give them context; there's no need to do that in your CV, too.

For example, when I applied for faculty positions, my CV included the following lines between my contact information and my education history.


  Research Interests
  
  Algorithms, data structures, and lower bounds; computational and discrete geometry; computer graphics


I've served on the faculty recruiting committee in my (top-10 US computer science) department for several years; this approach seems both standard and effective.  Personally, when I read a CV, I only spend a second or two on the self-declared research interests and jump straight to the publication list.

(Posdef's answer suggests giving more context in your cover letter, but I think this is pointless.  I don't know anyone who has ever read a cover letter.)