To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Surface cloud radiative effect.
Journal articles on the topic 'Surface cloud radiative effect'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Surface cloud radiative effect.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Kalisch, J., and A. Macke. "Radiative budget and cloud radiative effect over the Atlantic from ship based observations." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions 5, no. 2 (March 1, 2012): 2011–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amtd-5-2011-2012.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. The aim of this study is to determine cloud-type resolved cloud radiative budgets and cloud radiative effects from surface measurements of broadband radiative fluxes over the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, based on simultaneous observations of the state of the cloudy atmosphere a radiative closure study has been performed by means of the ECHAM5 single column model in order to identify the models ability to realistically reproduce the effects of clouds on the climate system. An extensive data base of radiative and atmospheric measurements has been established along five meridional cruises of the German research icebreaker POLARSTERN. Besides pyranometer and pyrgeometer for downward broadband solar and thermal radiative fluxes, a sky imager and a microwave radiometer have been utilized to determine cloud fraction and cloud type on the one hand and temperature and humidity profiles as well as liquid water path for warm non-precipitating clouds on the other hand. Averaged over all cruise tracks we obtain a total net (solar + thermal) radiative flux of 144 W m−2 that is dominated by the solar component. In general, the solar contribution is large for cirrus clouds and small for stratus clouds. No significant meridional dependencies were found for the surface radiation budgets and cloud effects. The strongest surface longwave cloud effects were shown in the presence of low level clouds. Clouds with a high optical density induce strong negative solar radiative effects under high solar altitudes. The mean surface net cloud radiative effect is −34 W m−2. For the purpose of quickly estimating the mean surface longwave, shortwave and net cloud effects in moderate, subtropical and tropical climate regimes a new parameterisation was created, considering the total cloud amount and the solar zenith angle. The ECHAM5 single column model provides a surface net cloud effect that is more cooling by 16 W m−2 compared to the radiation observations. This overestimation in solar cooling is mostly caused by the shortwave impact of convective clouds. The latter show a large overestimation in solar cooling of up to 112 W m−2. Mean cloud radiative effects of cirrus and stratus clouds were simulated close to the observations.
2
Kalisch, J., and A. Macke. "Radiative budget and cloud radiative effect over the Atlantic from ship-based observations." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 5, no. 10 (October 16, 2012): 2391–401. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2391-2012.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. The aim of this study is to determine cloud-type resolved cloud radiative budgets and cloud radiative effects from surface measurements of broadband radiative fluxes over the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, based on simultaneous observations of the state of the cloudy atmosphere, a radiative closure study has been performed by means of the ECHAM5 single column model in order to identify the model's ability to realistically reproduce the effects of clouds on the climate system. An extensive database of radiative and atmospheric measurements has been established along five meridional cruises of the German research icebreaker Polarstern. Besides pyranometer and pyrgeometer for downward broadband solar and thermal radiative fluxes, a sky imager and a microwave radiometer have been utilized to determine cloud fraction and cloud type on the one hand and temperature and humidity profiles as well as liquid water path for warm non-precipitating clouds on the other hand. Averaged over all cruise tracks, we obtain a total net (solar + thermal) radiative flux of 144 W m−2 that is dominated by the solar component. In general, the solar contribution is large for cirrus clouds and small for stratus clouds. No significant meridional dependencies were found for the surface radiation budgets and cloud effects. The strongest surface longwave cloud effects were shown in the presence of low level clouds. Clouds with a high optical density induce strong negative solar radiative effects under high solar altitudes. The mean surface net cloud radiative effect is −33 W m−2. For the purpose of quickly estimating the mean surface longwave, shortwave and net cloud effects in moderate, subtropical and tropical climate regimes, a new parameterisation was created, considering the total cloud amount and the solar zenith angle. The ECHAM5 single column model provides a surface net cloud effect that is more cooling by 17 W m−2 compared to the radiation observations. This overestimation in solar cooling is mostly caused by the shortwave impact of convective clouds. The latter show a large overestimation in solar cooling of up to 114 W m−2. Mean cloud radiative effects of cirrus and stratus clouds were simulated close to the observations.
3
Lacour, A., H. Chepfer, N. B. Miller, M. D. Shupe, V. Noel, X. Fettweis, H. Gallee, J. E. Kay, R. Guzman, and J. Cole. "How Well Are Clouds Simulated over Greenland in Climate Models? Consequences for the Surface Cloud Radiative Effect over the Ice Sheet." Journal of Climate 31, no. 22 (November 2018): 9293–312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-18-0023.1.
Full textAbstract:
Using lidar and radiative flux observations from space and ground, and a lidar simulator, we evaluate clouds simulated by climate models over the Greenland ice sheet, including predicted cloud cover, cloud fraction profile, cloud opacity, and surface cloud radiative effects. The representation of clouds over Greenland is a central concern for the models because clouds impact ice sheet surface melt. We find that over Greenland, most of the models have insufficient cloud cover during summer. In addition, all models create too few nonopaque, liquid-containing clouds optically thin enough to let direct solar radiation reach the surface (−1% to −3.5% at the ground level). Some models create too few opaque clouds. In most climate models, the cloud properties biases identified over all Greenland also apply at Summit, Greenland, proving the value of the ground observatory in model evaluation. At Summit, climate models underestimate cloud radiative effect (CRE) at the surface, especially in summer. The primary driver of the summer CRE biases compared to observations is the underestimation of the cloud cover in summer (−46% to −21%), which leads to an underestimated longwave radiative warming effect (CRELW = −35.7 to −13.6 W m−2 compared to the ground observations) and an underestimated shortwave cooling effect (CRESW = +1.5 to +10.5 W m−2 compared to the ground observations). Overall, the simulated clouds do not radiatively warm the surface as much as observed.
4
Alkama, Ramdane, Patrick C. Taylor, Lorea Garcia-San Martin, Herve Douville, Gregory Duveiller, Giovanni Forzieri, Didier Swingedouw, and Alessandro Cescatti. "Clouds damp the radiative impacts of polar sea ice loss." Cryosphere 14, no. 8 (August 21, 2020): 2673–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2673-2020.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Clouds play an important role in the climate system: (1) cooling Earth by reflecting incoming sunlight to space and (2) warming Earth by reducing thermal energy loss to space. Cloud radiative effects are especially important in polar regions and have the potential to significantly alter the impact of sea ice decline on the surface radiation budget. Using CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) data and 32 CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) climate models, we quantify the influence of polar clouds on the radiative impact of polar sea ice variability. Our results show that the cloud short-wave cooling effect strongly influences the impact of sea ice variability on the surface radiation budget and does so in a counter-intuitive manner over the polar seas: years with less sea ice and a larger net surface radiative flux show a more negative cloud radiative effect. Our results indicate that 66±2% of this change in the net cloud radiative effect is due to the reduction in surface albedo and that the remaining 34±1 % is due to an increase in cloud cover and optical thickness. The overall cloud radiative damping effect is 56±2 % over the Antarctic and 47±3 % over the Arctic. Thus, present-day cloud properties significantly reduce the net radiative impact of sea ice loss on the Arctic and Antarctic surface radiation budgets. As a result, climate models must accurately represent present-day polar cloud properties in order to capture the surface radiation budget impact of polar sea ice loss and thus the surface albedo feedback.
5
Stapf, Johannes, André Ehrlich, Evelyn Jäkel, Christof Lüpkes, and Manfred Wendisch. "Reassessment of shortwave surface cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic: consideration of surface-albedo–cloud interactions." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20, no. 16 (August 26, 2020): 9895–914. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9895-2020.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. The concept of cloud radiative forcing (CRF) is commonly applied to quantify the impact of clouds on the surface radiative energy budget (REB). In the Arctic, specific radiative interactions between microphysical and macrophysical properties of clouds and the surface strongly modify the warming or cooling effect of clouds, complicating the estimate of CRF obtained from observations or models. Clouds tend to increase the broadband surface albedo over snow or sea ice surfaces compared to cloud-free conditions. However, this effect is not adequately considered in the derivation of CRF in the Arctic so far. Therefore, we have quantified the effects caused by surface-albedo–cloud interactions over highly reflective snow or sea ice surfaces on the CRF using radiative transfer simulations and below-cloud airborne observations above the heterogeneous springtime marginal sea ice zone (MIZ) during the Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day (ACLOUD) campaign. The impact of a modified surface albedo in the presence of clouds, as compared to cloud-free conditions, and its dependence on cloud optical thickness is found to be relevant for the estimation of the shortwave CRF. A method is proposed to consider this surface albedo effect on CRF estimates by continuously retrieving the cloud-free surface albedo from observations under cloudy conditions, using an available snow and ice albedo parameterization. Using ACLOUD data reveals that the estimated average shortwave cooling by clouds almost doubles over snow- and ice-covered surfaces (−62 W m−2 instead of −32 W m−2), if surface-albedo–cloud interactions are considered. As a result, the observed total (shortwave plus longwave) CRF shifted from a warming effect to an almost neutral one. Concerning the seasonal cycle of the surface albedo, it is demonstrated that this effect enhances shortwave cooling in periods when snow dominates the surface and potentially weakens the cooling by optically thin clouds during the summertime melting season. These findings suggest that the surface-albedo–cloud interaction should be considered in global climate models and in long-term studies to obtain a realistic estimate of the shortwave CRF to quantify the role of clouds in Arctic amplification.
6
de Szoeke, Simon P., Sandra Yuter, David Mechem, Chris W. Fairall, Casey D. Burleyson, and Paquita Zuidema. "Observations of Stratocumulus Clouds and Their Effect on the Eastern Pacific Surface Heat Budget along 20°S." Journal of Climate 25, no. 24 (December 15, 2012): 8542–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00618.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Widespread stratocumulus clouds were observed on nine transects from seven research cruises to the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean along 20°S, 75°–85°W in October–November of 2001–08. The nine transects sample a unique combination of synoptic and interannual variability affecting the clouds; their ensemble diagnoses longitude–vertical sections of the atmosphere, diurnal cycles of cloud properties and drizzle statistics, and the effect of stratocumulus clouds on surface radiation. Mean cloud fraction was 0.88, and 67% of 10-min overhead cloud fraction observations were overcast. Clouds cleared in the afternoon [1500 local time (LT)] to a minimum of fraction of 0.7. Precipitation radar found strong drizzle with reflectivity above 40 dBZ. Cloud-base (CB) heights rise with longitude from 1.0 km at 75°W to 1.2 km at 85°W in the mean, but the slope varies from cruise to cruise. CB–lifting condensation level (LCL) displacement, a measure of decoupling, increases westward. At night CB–LCL is 0–200 m and increases 400 m from dawn to 1600 LT, before collapsing in the evening. Despite zonal gradients in boundary layer and cloud vertical structure, surface radiation and cloud radiative forcing are relatively uniform in longitude. When present, clouds reduce solar radiation by 160 W m−2 and radiate 70 W m−2 more downward longwave radiation than clear skies. Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) simulations of the climate of the twentieth century show 40 ± 20 W m−2 too little net cloud radiative cooling at the surface. Simulated clouds have correct radiative forcing when present, but models have ~50% too few clouds.
7
Byrne, Michael P., and Laure Zanna. "Radiative Effects of Clouds and Water Vapor on an Axisymmetric Monsoon." Journal of Climate 33, no. 20 (October 15, 2020): 8789–811. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-19-0974.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractMonsoons are summertime circulations shaping climates and societies across the tropics and subtropics. Here the radiative effects controlling an axisymmetric monsoon and its response to climate change are investigated using aquaplanet simulations. The influences of clouds, water vapor, and CO2 on the axisymmetric monsoon are decomposed using the radiation-locking technique. Seasonal variations in clouds and water vapor strongly modulate the axisymmetric monsoon, reducing net precipitation by approximately half. Warming and moistening of the axisymmetric monsoon by seasonal longwave cloud and water vapor effects are counteracted by a strong shortwave cloud effect. The shortwave cloud effect also expedites onset of the axisymmetric monsoon by approximately two weeks, whereas longwave cloud and water vapor effects delay onset. A conceptual model relates the timing of monsoon onset to the efficiency of surface cooling. In climate change simulations CO2 forcing and the water vapor feedback have similar influences on the axisymmetric monsoon, warming the surface and moistening the region. In contrast, clouds have a negligible effect on surface temperature yet dominate the monsoon circulation response. A new perspective for understanding how cloud radiative effects shape the monsoon circulation response to climate change is introduced. The radiation-locking simulations and analyses advance understanding of how radiative processes influence an axisymmetric monsoon, and establish a framework for interpreting monsoon–radiation coupling in observations, in state-of-the-art models, and in different climate states.
8
Becker, Sebastian, André Ehrlich, Michael Schäfer, and Manfred Wendisch. "Airborne observations of the surface cloud radiative effect during different seasons over sea ice and open ocean in the Fram Strait." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 23, no. 12 (June 23, 2023): 7015–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7015-2023.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. This study analyses the cloud radiative effect (CRE) obtained from near-surface observations of three airborne campaigns in the Arctic north-west of Svalbard: Airborne measurements of radiative and turbulent FLUXes of energy and momentum in the Arctic boundary layer (AFLUX, March/April 2019), Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day (ACLOUD, May/June 2017), and Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate – Airborne observations in the Central Arctic (MOSAiC-ACA, August/September 2020). The surface CRE quantifies the potential of clouds to modify the radiative energy budget at the surface and is calculated by combining broadband radiation measurements during low-level flight sections in mostly cloudy conditions with radiative transfer simulations of cloud-free conditions. The significance of surface albedo changes due to the presence of clouds is demonstrated, and this effect is considered in the cloud-free simulations. The observations are discussed with respect to differences of the CRE between sea ice and open-ocean surfaces and between the seasonally different campaigns. The results indicate that the CRE depends on cloud, illumination, surface, and thermodynamic properties. The solar and thermal-infrared (TIR) components of the CRE, CREsol and CRETIR, are analysed separately, as well as combined for the study of the total CRE (CREtot). The inter-campaign differences of CREsol are dominated by the seasonal cycle of the solar zenith angle, with the strongest cooling effect in summer. The lower surface albedo causes a stronger solar cooling effect over open ocean than over sea ice, which amounts to −259 W m−2 (−108 W m−2) and −65 W m−2 (−17 W m−2), respectively, during summer (spring). Independent of campaign and surface type, CRETIR is only weakly variable and shows values around 75 W m−2. In total, clouds show a negative CREtot over open ocean during all campaigns. In contrast, over sea ice, the positive CREtot suggests a warming effect of clouds at the surface, which neutralizes during mid-summer. Given the seasonal cycle of the sea ice distribution, these results imply that clouds in the Fram Strait region cool the surface during the sea ice minimum in late summer, while they warm the surface during the sea ice maximum in spring.
9
Harrop, Bryce E., and Dennis L. Hartmann. "The Relationship between Atmospheric Convective Radiative Effect and Net Energy Transport in the Tropical Warm Pool." Journal of Climate 28, no. 21 (October 30, 2015): 8620–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0151.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Reanalysis data and radiation budget data are used to calculate the role of the atmospheric cloud radiative effect in determining the magnitude of horizontal export of energy by the tropical atmosphere. Because tropical high clouds result in net radiative heating of the atmosphere, they increase the requirement for the atmosphere to export energy from convective regions. Increases in upper-tropospheric water vapor associated with convection contribute about a fifth of the atmospheric radiative heating anomaly associated with convection. Over the warmest tropical oceans, the radiative effect of convective clouds and associated water vapor is roughly two-thirds the value of the atmospheric energy transport. Cloud radiative heating and atmospheric heat transport increase at the same rate with increasing sea surface temperature, suggesting that the increased energy export is supplied by the radiative heating associated with convective clouds. The net cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere is insensitive to changes in SST over the warm pool. Principal component analysis of satellite-retrieved cloud data reveals that the insensitivity of the net cloud radiative effect to SST is the result of changes in cloud amount offsetting changes in cloud optical thickness and cloud-top height. While increasing upward motion makes the cloud radiative effect more negative, that decrease is offset by reductions in outgoing longwave radiation owing to increases in water vapor.
10
Degünther, M., and R. Meerkötter. "Effect of remote clouds on surface UV irradiance." Annales Geophysicae 18, no. 6 (June 30, 2000): 679–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00585-000-0679-5.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Clouds affect local surface UV irradiance, even if the horizontal distance from the radiation observation site amounts to several kilometers. In order to investigate this effect, which we call remote clouds effect, a 3-dimensional radiative transfer model is applied. Assuming the atmosphere is subdivided into a quadratic based sector and its surrounding, we quantify the influence of changing cloud coverage within this surrounding from 0% to 100% on surface UV irradiance at the sector center. To work out this remote clouds influence as a function of sector base size, we made some calculations for different sizes between 10 km × 10 km and 100 km × 100 km. It appears that in the case of small sectors (base size < 20 km × 20 km) the remote clouds effect is highly variable: Depending on cloud structure, solar zenith angle and wavelength, the surface UV irradiance may be enhanced up to 15% as well as reduced by more than 50%. In contrast, for larger sectors it is always the case that enhancements become smaller by 5% if sector base size exceeds 60 km × 60 km. However, these values are upper estimates of the remote cloud effects and they are found only for special cloud structures. Since these structures might occur but cannot be regarded as typical, different satellite observed cloud formations (horizontal resolution about 1 km × 1 km) have also been investigated. For these more common cloud distributions we find remote cloud effects to be distinctly smaller than the corresponding upper estimates, e.g., for a sector with base size of 25 km × 25 km the surface UV irradiance error due to ignoring the actual remote clouds and replacing their influence with periodic horizontal boundary conditions is less than 3%, whereas the upper estimate of remote clouds effect would suggest an error close to 10%.Key words: Atmospheric composition and structure (transmission and scattering of radiation) - Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (radiative process)
11
Scott, Ryan C., Dan Lubin, Andrew M. Vogelmann, and Seiji Kato. "West Antarctic Ice Sheet Cloud Cover and Surface Radiation Budget from NASA A-Train Satellites." Journal of Climate 30, no. 16 (August 2017): 6151–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0644.1.
Full textAbstract:
Clouds are an essential parameter of the surface energy budget influencing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) response to atmospheric warming and net contribution to global sea level rise. A 4-yr record of NASA A-Train cloud observations is combined with surface radiation measurements to quantify the WAIS radiation budget and constrain the three-dimensional occurrence frequency, thermodynamic phase partitioning, and surface radiative effect of clouds over West Antarctica (WA). The skill of satellite-modeled radiative fluxes is confirmed through evaluation against measurements at four Antarctic sites (WAIS Divide ice camp and Neumayer, Syowa, and Concordia stations). Owing to perennial high-albedo snow and ice cover, cloud infrared emission dominates over cloud solar reflection and absorption leading to a positive net all-wave cloud radiative effect (CRE) at the surface, with all monthly means and 99.15% of instantaneous CRE values exceeding zero. The annual-mean CRE at the WAIS surface is 34 W m−2, representing a significant cloud-induced warming of the ice sheet. Low-level liquid-containing clouds, including thin liquid water clouds implicated in radiative contributions to surface melting, are widespread and most frequent in WA during the austral summer. In summer, clouds warm the WAIS by 26 W m−2, on average, despite maximum offsetting shortwave CRE. Glaciated cloud systems are strongly linked to orographic forcing, with maximum incidence on the WAIS continuing downstream along the Transantarctic Mountains.
12
Yi, Bingqi, Ping Yang, Bryan A. Baum, Tristan L'Ecuyer, Lazaros Oreopoulos, Eli J. Mlawer, Andrew J. Heymsfield, and Kuo-Nan Liou. "Influence of Ice Particle Surface Roughening on the Global Cloud Radiative Effect." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, no. 9 (September 1, 2013): 2794–807. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-13-020.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Ice clouds influence the climate system by changing the radiation budget and large-scale circulation. Therefore, climate models need to have an accurate representation of ice clouds and their radiative effects. In this paper, new broadband parameterizations for ice cloud bulk scattering properties are developed for severely roughened ice particles. The parameterizations are based on a general habit mixture that includes nine habits (droxtals, hollow/solid columns, plates, solid/hollow bullet rosettes, aggregate of solid columns, and small/large aggregates of plates). The scattering properties for these individual habits incorporate recent advances in light-scattering computations. The influence of ice particle surface roughness on the ice cloud radiative effect is determined through simulations with the Fu–Liou and the GCM version of the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTMG) codes and the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model (CAM, version 5.1). The differences in shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiative effect at both the top of the atmosphere and the surface are determined for smooth and severely roughened ice particles. While the influence of particle roughening on the single-scattering properties is negligible in the LW, the results indicate that ice crystal roughness can change the SW forcing locally by more than 10 W m−2 over a range of effective diameters. The global-averaged SW cloud radiative effect due to ice particle surface roughness is estimated to be roughly 1–2 W m−2. The CAM results indicate that ice particle roughening can result in a large regional SW radiative effect and a small but nonnegligible increase in the global LW cloud radiative effect.
13
Hu, R. M., J. P. Blanchet, and E. Girard. "The effect of aerosol on surface cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 5, no. 5 (September 22, 2005): 9039–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-5-9039-2005.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Cloud radiative forcing is a very important concept to understand what kind of role the clouds play in climate change with thermal effect or albedo effect. In spite of that much progress has been achieved, the clouds are still poorly described in the climate models. Due to the complex aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions, high surface albedo of snow and ice cover, and without solar radiation in long period of the year, the Arctic strong warming caused by increasing greenhouse gases (as most GCMs suggested) has not been verified by the observations. In this study, we were dedicated to quantify the aerosol effect on the Arctic cloud radiative forcing by Northern Aerosol Regional Climate Model (NARCM). Major aerosol species such as Arctic haze sulphate, black carbon, sea salt, organics and dust have been included during our simulations. By inter-comparisons with the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) data, we find surface cloud radiative forcing (SCRF) is −22 W/m2 for shortwave and 36 W/m2 for longwave. Total cloud forcing is 14 W/m2 with minimum of −35 W/m2 in early July. If aerosols are taken into account, the SCRF has been increased during winter while negative SCRF has been enhanced during summer. Our estimate of aerosol forcing is about −6 W/m2 in the Arctic.
14
Burleyson, Casey D., Charles N. Long, and Jennifer M. Comstock. "Quantifying Diurnal Cloud Radiative Effects by Cloud Type in the Tropical Western Pacific." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 54, no. 6 (June 2015): 1297–312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-14-0288.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractCloud radiative effects are examined using long-term datasets collected at the U.S. Department of Energy’s three Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facilities in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. The surface radiation budget, cloud populations, and cloud radiative effects are quantified by partitioning the data by cloud type, time of day, and large-scale modes of variability such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase and wet/dry seasons at Darwin, Australia. The novel aspect of this analysis is the breakdown of aggregate cloud radiative effects by cloud type across the diurnal cycle. The Nauru Island (Republic of Nauru) cloud populations and subsequently the surface radiation budget are strongly impacted by ENSO variability, whereas the cloud populations over Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) shift only slightly in response to changes in ENSO phase. The Darwin site exhibits large seasonal monsoon-related variations. When present, deeper convective clouds have a strong influence on the amount of radiation that reaches the surface. Their limited frequency reduces their aggregate radiative impact, however. The largest source of shortwave cloud radiative effects at all three sites comes from low clouds. The observations are used to demonstrate that potential model biases in the amplitude of the diurnal cycle and mean cloud frequency would lead to larger errors in the surface energy budget when compared with biases in the timing of the diurnal cycle of cloud frequency. These results provide solid benchmarks to evaluate model simulations of cloud radiative effects in the tropics.
15
L’Ecuyer, Tristan S., Yun Hang, Alexander V. Matus, and Zhien Wang. "Reassessing the Effect of Cloud Type on Earth’s Energy Balance in the Age of Active Spaceborne Observations. Part I: Top of Atmosphere and Surface." Journal of Climate 32, no. 19 (August 26, 2019): 6197–217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-18-0753.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis study revisits the classical problem of quantifying the radiative effects of unique cloud types in the era of spaceborne active observations. The radiative effects of nine cloud types, distinguished based on their vertical structure defined by CloudSat and CALIPSO observations, are assessed at both the top of the atmosphere and the surface. The contributions from single- and multilayered clouds are explicitly diagnosed. The global, annual mean net cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere is found to be −17.1 ± 4.2 W m−2 owing to −44.2 ± 2 W m−2 of shortwave cooling and 27.1 ± 3.7 W m−2 of longwave heating. Leveraging explicit cloud base and vertical structure information, we further estimate the annual mean net cloud radiative effect at the surface to be −24.8 ± 8.7 W m−2 (−51.1 ± 7.8 W m−2 in the shortwave and 26.3 ± 3.8 W m−2 in the longwave). Multilayered clouds are found to exert the strongest influence on the top-of-atmosphere energy balance. However, a strong asymmetry in net cloud radiative cooling between the hemispheres (8.6 W m−2) is dominated by enhanced cooling from stratocumulus over the southern oceans. It is found that there is no corresponding asymmetry at the surface owing to enhanced longwave emission by southern ocean clouds in winter, which offsets a substantial fraction of their impact on solar absorption in summer. Thus the asymmetry in cloud radiative effects is entirely realized as an atmosphere heating imbalance between the hemispheres.
16
Feingold, Graham, Allison McComiskey, Takanobu Yamaguchi, Jill S. Johnson, Kenneth S. Carslaw, and K. Sebastian Schmidt. "New approaches to quantifying aerosol influence on the cloud radiative effect." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113, no. 21 (February 1, 2016): 5812–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1514035112.
Full textAbstract:
The topic of cloud radiative forcing associated with the atmospheric aerosol has been the focus of intense scrutiny for decades. The enormity of the problem is reflected in the need to understand aspects such as aerosol composition, optical properties, cloud condensation, and ice nucleation potential, along with the global distribution of these properties, controlled by emissions, transport, transformation, and sinks. Equally daunting is that clouds themselves are complex, turbulent, microphysical entities and, by their very nature, ephemeral and hard to predict. Atmospheric general circulation models represent aerosol−cloud interactions at ever-increasing levels of detail, but these models lack the resolution to represent clouds and aerosol−cloud interactions adequately. There is a dearth of observational constraints on aerosol−cloud interactions. We develop a conceptual approach to systematically constrain the aerosol−cloud radiative effect in shallow clouds through a combination of routine process modeling and satellite and surface-based shortwave radiation measurements. We heed the call to merge Darwinian and Newtonian strategies by balancing microphysical detail with scaling and emergent properties of the aerosol−cloud radiation system.
17
Michael O Jonas. "Clouds independently appear to have as much or greater effect than man-made CO2 on radiative forcing." World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 14, no. 2 (May 30, 2022): 564–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2022.14.2.0478.
Full textAbstract:
The patterns of behaviour of clouds, both for cloud area and cloud optical thickness, are studied over the period of available data, 1983 to 2017. There was a decrease in cloud cover over the study period, while global surface temperatures increased. The patterns of clouds and temperature indicate that the cloud cover decrease could not have been caused by the increased surface temperature. The clear implication is that the decrease in global cloud area must have been caused by some other unspecified factor, and was not caused directly or indirectly by CO2. Evaluation of the changes in clouds and CO2 over the study period indicate that this unspecified factor had as much positive impact as the increase in CO2, with respect to the amount of radiation reaching the surface (radiative forcing), and possibly a much larger positive impact. The climate models, which have zero or negative cloud impact on radiative forcing independently from CO2, need to take this into account in order to avoid over-estimating the influence of CO2.
18
Johansson, E., A. Devasthale, T. L'Ecuyer, A. M. L. Ekman, and M. Tjernström. "The vertical structure of cloud radiative heating over the Indian subcontinent during summer monsoon." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 15, no. 20 (October 21, 2015): 11557–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11557-2015.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Clouds forming during the summer monsoon over the Indian subcontinent affect its evolution through their radiative impact as well as the release of latent heat. While the latter is previously studied to some extent, comparatively little is known about the radiative impact of different cloud types and the vertical structure of their radiative heating/cooling effects. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to partly fill this knowledge gap by investigating and documenting the vertical distributions of the different cloud types associated with the Indian monsoon and their radiative heating/cooling using the active radar and lidar sensors onboard CloudSat and CALIPSO. The intraseasonal evolution of clouds from May to October is also investigated to understand pre-to-post monsoon transitioning of their radiative heating/cooling effects. The vertical structure of cloud radiative heating (CRH) follows the northward migration and retreat of the monsoon from May to October. Throughout this time period, stratiform clouds radiatively warm the middle troposphere and cool the upper troposphere by more than ±0.2 K day−1 (after weighing by cloud fraction), with the largest impacts observed in June, July and August. During these months, the fraction of high thin cloud remains high in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Deep convective towers cause considerable radiative warming in the middle and upper troposphere, but strongly cool the base and inside of the TTL. This cooling is stronger during active (−1.23 K day−1) monsoon periods compared to break periods (−0.36 K day−1). The contrasting radiative warming effect of high clouds in the TTL is twice as large during active periods than in break periods. These results highlight the increasing importance of CRH with altitude, especially in the TTL. Stratiform (made up of alto- and nimbostratus clouds) and deep convection clouds radiatively cool the surface by approximately −100 and −400 W m−2 respectively while warming the atmosphere radiatively by about 40 to 150 W m−2. While the cooling at the surface induced by deep convection and stratiform clouds is largest during active periods of monsoon, the importance of stratiform clouds further increases during break periods. The contrasting CREs (cloud radiative effects) in the atmosphere and at surface, and during active and break periods, should have direct implications for the monsoonal circulation.
19
Hill, Peter G., Richard P. Allan, J. Christine Chiu, Alejandro Bodas-Salcedo, and Peter Knippertz. "Quantifying the Contribution of Different Cloud Types to the Radiation Budget in Southern West Africa." Journal of Climate 31, no. 13 (July 2018): 5273–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0586.1.
Full textAbstract:
The contribution of cloud to the radiation budget of southern West Africa (SWA) is poorly understood and yet it is important for understanding regional monsoon evolution and for evaluating and improving climate models, which have large biases in this region. Radiative transfer calculations applied to atmospheric profiles obtained from the CERES– CloudSat–CALIPSO–MODIS (CCCM) dataset are used to investigate the effects of 12 different cloud types (defined by their vertical structure) on the regional energy budget of SWA (5°–10°N, 8°W–8°E) during June–September. We show that the large regional mean cloud radiative effect in SWA is due to nonnegligible contributions from many different cloud types; eight cloud types have a cloud fraction larger than 5% and contribute at least 5% of the regional mean shortwave cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere. Low clouds, which are poorly observed by passive satellite measurements, were found to cause net radiative cooling of the atmosphere, which reduces the heating from other cloud types by approximately 10%. The sensitivity of the radiation budget to underestimating low-cloud cover is also investigated. The radiative effect of missing low cloud is found to be up to approximately −25 W m−2 for upwelling shortwave irradiance at the top of the atmosphere and 35 W m−2 for downwelling shortwave irradiance at the surface.
20
Myers, Timothy A., and Joel R. Norris. "On the Relationships between Subtropical Clouds and Meteorology in Observations and CMIP3 and CMIP5 Models*." Journal of Climate 28, no. 8 (April 7, 2015): 2945–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-14-00475.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Climate models’ simulation of clouds over the eastern subtropical oceans contributes to large uncertainties in projected cloud feedback to global warming. Here, interannual relationships of cloud radiative effect and cloud fraction to meteorological variables are examined in observations and in models participating in phases 3 and 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3 and CMIP5, respectively). In observations, cooler sea surface temperature, a stronger estimated temperature inversion, and colder horizontal surface temperature advection are each associated with larger low-level cloud fraction and increased reflected shortwave radiation. A moister free troposphere and weaker subsidence are each associated with larger mid- and high-level cloud fraction and offsetting components of shortwave and longwave cloud radiative effect. It is found that a larger percentage of CMIP5 than CMIP3 models simulate the wrong sign or magnitude of the relationship of shortwave cloud radiative effect to sea surface temperature and estimated inversion strength. Furthermore, most models fail to produce the sign of the relationship between shortwave cloud radiative effect and temperature advection. These deficiencies are mostly, but not exclusively, attributable to errors in the relationship between low-level cloud fraction and meteorology. Poor model performance also arises due to errors in the response of mid- and high-level cloud fraction to variations in meteorology. Models exhibiting relationships closest to observations tend to project less solar reflection by clouds in the late twenty-first century and have higher climate sensitivities than poorer-performing models. Nevertheless, the intermodel spread of climate sensitivity is large even among these realistic models.
21
Chang, D. Y., H. Tost, B. Steil, and J. Lelieveld. "Aerosol–cloud interactions studied with the chemistry-climate model EMAC." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 14, no. 15 (August 27, 2014): 21975–2043. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-21975-2014.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. This study uses the EMAC atmospheric chemistry-climate model to simulate cloud properties and estimate cloud radiative effects induced by aerosols. We have tested two prognostic cloud droplet nucleation parameterizations, i.e., the standard STN (osmotic coefficient model) and hybrid (HYB, replacing the osmotic coefficient by the κ hygroscopicity parameter) schemes to calculate aerosol hygroscopicity and critical supersaturation, and consider aerosol–cloud feedbacks with a focus on warm clouds. Both prognostic schemes (STN and HYB) account for aerosol number, size and composition effects on droplet nucleation, and are tested in combination with two different cloud cover parameterizations, i.e., a relative humidity threshold and a statistical cloud cover scheme (RH-CLC and ST-CLC). The use of either STN and HYB leads to very different cloud radiative effects, particularly over the continents. The STN scheme predicts highly effective CCN activation in warm clouds and hazes/fogs near the surface. The enhanced CCN activity increases the cloud albedo effect of aerosols and cools the Earth's surface. The cooler surface enhances the hydrostatic stability of the lower continental troposphere and thereby reduces convection and convective precipitation. In contrast, the HYB simulations calculate lower, more realistic CCN activation and consequent cloud albedo effect, leading to relatively stronger convection and high cloud formation. The enhanced high clouds increase greenhouse warming and moderate the cooling effect of the low clouds. With respect to the cloud radiative effects, the statistical ST-CLC scheme shows much higher sensitivity to aerosol–cloud coupling for all continental regions than the RH-CLC threshold scheme, most pronounced for low clouds but also for high clouds. Simulations of the short wave cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere in ST-CLC are a factor of 2–8 more sensitive to aerosol coupling than the RH-CLC configurations. The long wave cloud radiative effect responds about a factor of 2 more sensitively. Our results show that the coupling with the HYB scheme (κ approach) outperforms the coupling with STN (osmotic coefficient), and also provides a more straightforward approach to account for physicochemical effects on aerosol activation into cloud droplets. Accordingly, the sensitivity of CCN activation to chemical composition is highest in HYB. Overall, the prognostic schemes of cloud cover and cloud droplet formation help improve the agreement between model results and observations, and for the ST-CLC scheme it seems to be a necessity.
22
Arouf, Assia, Hélène Chepfer, Thibault Vaillant de Guélis, Marjolaine Chiriaco, Matthew D. Shupe, Rodrigo Guzman, Artem Feofilov, et al. "The surface longwave cloud radiative effect derived from space lidar observations." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 15, no. 12 (July 1, 2022): 3893–923. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3893-2022.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Clouds warm the surface in the longwave (LW), and this warming effect can be quantified through the surface LW cloud radiative effect (CRE). The global surface LW CRE has been estimated over more than 2 decades using space-based radiometers (2000–2021) and over the 5-year period ending in 2011 using the combination of radar, lidar and space-based radiometers. Previous work comparing these two types of retrievals has shown that the radiometer-based cloud amount has some bias over icy surfaces. Here we propose new estimates of the global surface LW CRE from space-based lidar observations over the 2008–2020 time period. We show from 1D atmospheric column radiative transfer calculations that surface LW CRE linearly decreases with increasing cloud altitude. These computations allow us to establish simple parameterizations between surface LW CRE and five cloud properties that are well observed by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) space-based lidar: opaque cloud cover and altitude and thin cloud cover, altitude, and emissivity. We evaluate this new surface LWCRE–LIDAR product by comparing it to existing satellite-derived products globally on instantaneous collocated data at footprint scale and on global averages as well as to ground-based observations at specific locations. This evaluation shows good correlations between this new product and other datasets. Our estimate appears to be an improvement over others as it appropriately captures the annual variability of the surface LW CRE over bright polar surfaces and it provides a dataset more than 13 years long.
23
Kato, Seiji, Fred G. Rose, David A. Rutan, and Thomas P. Charlock. "Cloud Effects on the Meridional Atmospheric Energy Budget Estimated from Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Data." Journal of Climate 21, no. 17 (September 1, 2008): 4223–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2008jcli1982.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The zonal mean atmospheric cloud radiative effect, defined as the difference between the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) and surface cloud radiative effects, is estimated from 3 yr of Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data. The zonal mean shortwave effect is small, though it tends to be positive (warming). This indicates that clouds increase shortwave absorption in the atmosphere, especially in midlatitudes. The zonal mean atmospheric cloud radiative effect is, however, dominated by the longwave effect. The zonal mean longwave effect is positive in the tropics and decreases with latitude to negative values (cooling) in polar regions. The meridional gradient of the cloud effect between midlatitude and polar regions exists even when uncertainties in the cloud effect on the surface enthalpy flux and in the modeled irradiances are taken into account. This indicates that clouds increase the rate of generation of the mean zonal available potential energy. Because the atmospheric cooling effect in polar regions is predominately caused by low-level clouds, which tend to be stationary, it is postulated here that the meridional and vertical gradients of the cloud effect increase the rate of meridional energy transport by the dynamics of the atmosphere from the midlatitudes to the polar region, especially in fall and winter. Clouds then warm the surface in the polar regions except in the Arctic in summer. Clouds, therefore, contribute toward increasing the rate of meridional energy transport from the midlatitudes to the polar regions through the atmosphere.
24
Seifert, A., C. Köhler, and K. D. Beheng. "Aerosol-cloud-precipitation effects over Germany as simulated by a convective-scale numerical weather prediction model." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 11, no. 7 (July 18, 2011): 20203–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-11-20203-2011.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Possible aerosol-cloud-precipitation effects over Germany are investigated using the COSMO model in a convection-permitting configuration close to the operational COSMO-DE. Aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation are modeled by using an advanced two-moment microphysical parameterization taking into account aerosol assumptions for cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) as well as ice nuclei (IN). Simulations of three summer seasons have been performed with various aerosol assumptions, and are analysed regarding surface precipitation, cloud properties, and the indirect aerosol effect on near-surface temperature. We find that the CCN and IN assumptions have a strong effect on cloud properties, like condensate amounts of cloud water, snow and rain as well as on the glaciation of the clouds, but the effects on surface precipitation are – when averaged over space and time – small. This robustness can only be understood by the combined action of microphysical and dynamical processes. On one hand, this shows that clouds can be interpreted as a buffered system where significant changes to environmental parameters, like aerosols, have little effect on the resulting surface precipitation. On the other hand, this buffering is not active for the radiative effects of clouds, and the changes in cloud properties due to aerosol perturbations have a significant effect on radiation and near-surface temperature.
25
Seifert, A., C. Köhler, and K. D. Beheng. "Aerosol-cloud-precipitation effects over Germany as simulated by a convective-scale numerical weather prediction model." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 12, no. 2 (January 16, 2012): 709–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-709-2012.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Possible aerosol-cloud-precipitation effects over Germany are investigated using the COSMO model in a convection-permitting configuration close to the operational COSMO-DE. Aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation are modeled by using an advanced two-moment microphysical parameterization taking into account aerosol assumptions for cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) as well as ice nuclei (IN). Simulations of three summer seasons have been performed with various aerosol assumptions, and are analysed regarding surface precipitation, cloud properties, and the indirect aerosol effect on near-surface temperature. We find that the CCN and IN assumptions have a strong effect on cloud properties, like condensate amounts of cloud water, snow and rain as well as on the glaciation of the clouds, but the effects on surface precipitation are – when averaged over space and time – small. This robustness can only be understood by the combined action of microphysical and dynamical processes. On one hand, this shows that clouds can be interpreted as a buffered system where significant changes to environmental parameters, like aerosols, have little effect on the resulting surface precipitation. On the other hand, this buffering is not active for the radiative effects of clouds, and the changes in cloud properties due to aerosol perturbations may have a significant effect on radiation and near-surface temperature.
26
Lee, Wan-Ho, and Richard C. J. Somerville. "Effects of alternative cloud radiation parameterizations in a general circulation model." Annales Geophysicae 14, no. 1 (January 31, 1996): 107–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00585-996-0107-6.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) general circulation model (CCM2), a suite of alternative cloud radiation parameterizations has been tested. Our methodology relies on perpetual July integrations driven by ±2 K sea surface temperature forcing. The tested parameterizations include relative humidity based clouds and versions of schemes involving a prognostic cloud water budget. We are especially interested in testing the effect of cloud optical thickness feedbacks on global climate sensitivity. All schemes exhibit negative cloud radiation feedbacks, i.e., cloud moderates the global warming. However, these negative net cloud radiation feedbacks consist of quite different shortwave and longwave components between a scheme with interactive cloud radiative properties and several schemes with specified cloud water paths. An increase in cloud water content in the warmer climate leads to optically thicker middle- and low-level clouds and in turn negative shortwave feedbacks for the interactive radiative scheme, while a decrease in cloud amount leads to a positive shortwave feedback for the other schemes. For the longwave feedbacks, a decrease in high effective cloudiness for the schemes without interactive radiative properties leads to a negative feedback, while no distinct changes in effective high cloudiness and the resulting feedback are exhibited for the scheme with interactive radiative properties. The resulting magnitude of negative net cloud radiation feed-back is largest for the scheme with interactive radiative properties. Even though the simulated values of cloud radiative forcing for the present climate using this method differ most from the observational data, the approach shows great promise for the future.
27
Miller, Nathaniel B., Matthew D. Shupe, Christopher J. Cox, Von P. Walden, David D. Turner, and Konrad Steffen. "Cloud Radiative Forcing at Summit, Greenland." Journal of Climate 28, no. 15 (July 30, 2015): 6267–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0076.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The surface energy budget plays a critical role in determining the mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which in turn has significant implications for global sea levels. Nearly three years of data (January 2011–October 2013) are used to characterize the annual cycle of surface radiative fluxes and cloud radiative forcing (CRF) from the central Greenland Ice Sheet at Summit Station. The annual average CRF is 33 W m−2, representing a substantial net cloud warming of the central Greenland surface. Unlike at other Arctic sites, clouds warm the surface during the summer. The surface albedo is high at Summit throughout the year, limiting the cooling effect of the shortwave CRF and thus the total CRF is dominated by cloud longwave warming effects in all months. All monthly mean CRF values are positive (warming), as are 98.5% of 3-hourly cases. The annual cycle of CRF is largely driven by the occurrence of liquid-bearing clouds, with a minimum in spring and maximum in late summer. Optically thick liquid-bearing clouds [liquid water path (LWP) > 30 g m−2] produce an average longwave CRF of 85 W m−2. Shortwave CRF is sensitive to solar zenith angle and LWP. When the sun is well above the horizon (solar zenith angle < 65°), a maximum cloud surface warming occurs in the presence of optically thin liquid-bearing clouds. Ice clouds occur frequently above Summit and have mean longwave CRF values ranging from 10 to 60 W m−2, dependent on cloud thickness.
28
Fletcher, Jennifer K., Shannon Mason, and Christian Jakob. "A Climatology of Clouds in Marine Cold Air Outbreaks in Both Hemispheres." Journal of Climate 29, no. 18 (August 31, 2016): 6677–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0783.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract A climatology of clouds within marine cold air outbreaks, primarily using long-term satellite observations, is presented. Cloud properties between cold air outbreaks in different regions in both hemispheres are compared. In all regions marine cold air outbreak clouds tend to be low level with high cloud fraction and low-to-moderate optical thickness. Stronger cold air outbreaks have clouds that are optically thicker, but not geometrically thicker, than those in weaker cold air outbreaks. There is some evidence that clouds deepen and break up over the course of a cold air outbreak event. The top-of-the-atmosphere longwave cloud radiative effect in cold air outbreaks is small because the clouds have low tops. However, their surface longwave cloud radiative effect is considerably larger. The rarity of cold air outbreaks in summer limits their shortwave cloud radiative effect. They do not contribute substantially to global shortwave cloud radiative effect and are, therefore, unlikely to be a major source of shortwave cloud radiative effect errors in climate models.
29
McFarlane, Sally A., Charles N. Long, and Julia Flaherty. "A Climatology of Surface Cloud Radiative Effects at the ARM Tropical Western Pacific Sites." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 52, no. 4 (April 2013): 996–1013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-12-0189.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractCloud radiative effects on surface downwelling fluxes are investigated using datasets from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) sites in the tropical western Pacific Ocean (TWP) region. The Nauru Island (Republic of Nauru) and Darwin, Australia, sites show large variability in sky cover, downwelling radiative fluxes, and surface cloud radiative effect (CRE) that is due to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Australian monsoon, respectively, whereas the Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) site shows little intraseasonal or interannual variability. At Nauru, the average shortwave (SW) surface CRE varies from −38.2 W m−2 during La Niña conditions to −90.6 W m−2 during El Niño conditions. The average longwave (LW) CRE ranges from 9.5 to 15.8 W m−2 during La Niña and El Niño conditions, respectively. At Manus, the average SW and LW CREs vary by less than 5 and 2 W m−2, respectively, between the ENSO phases. The variability at Darwin is even larger than at Nauru, with average SW (LW) CRE ranging from −27.0 (8.6) W m−2 in the dry season to −95.8 (17.0) W m−2 in the wet season. Cloud radar measurements of cloud-base and cloud-top heights are used to define cloud types to examine the effect of cloud type on the surface CRE. Clouds with low bases contribute 71%–75% of the surface SW CRE and 66%–74% of the surface LW CRE at the three TWP sites, clouds with midlevel bases contribute 8%–9% of the SW CRE and 12%–14% of the LW CRE, and clouds with high bases contribute 16%–19% of the SW CRE and 15%–21% of the LW CRE.
30
Griesche, Hannes Jascha, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke. "Low-level Arctic clouds: a blind zone in our knowledge of the radiation budget." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 24, no. 1 (January 16, 2024): 597–612. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Quantifying the role of clouds in the earth's radiation budget is essential for improving our understanding of the drivers and feedback mechanisms of climate change. This holds in particular for the Arctic, the region currently undergoing the most rapid changes. This region, however, also poses significant challenges to remote-sensing retrievals of clouds and radiative fluxes, introducing large uncertainties in current climate data records. In particular, low-level stratiform clouds are common in the Arctic but are, due to their low altitude, challenging to observe and characterize with remote-sensing techniques. The availability of reliable ground-based observations as reference is thus of high importance. In the present study, radiative transfer simulations using state-of-the-art ground-based remote sensing of clouds are contrasted with surface radiative flux measurements to assess their ability to constrain the cloud radiative effect. Cloud radar, lidar, and microwave radiometer observations from the PS106 cruise in the Arctic marginal sea ice zone in summer 2017 were used to derive cloud micro- and macrophysical properties by means of the instrument synergy approach of Cloudnet. Closure of surface radiative fluxes can only be achieved by a realistic representation of the low-level liquid-containing clouds in the radiative transfer simulations. The original, most likely erroneous, representation of these low-level clouds in the radiative transfer simulations led to errors in the cloud radiative effect of 54 W m−2. In total, the proposed method could be applied to 11 % of the observations. For the data, where the proposed method was utilized, the average relative error decreased from 109 % to 37 % for the simulated solar and from 18 % to 2.5 % for the simulated terrestrial downward radiative fluxes at the surface. The present study highlights the importance of jointly improving retrievals for low-level liquid-containing clouds which are frequently encountered in the high Arctic, together with observational capabilities both in terms of cloud remote sensing and radiative flux observations. Concrete suggestions for achieving these goals are provided.
31
McFarlane, Sally A., and K. Franklin Evans. "Clouds and Shortwave Fluxes at Nauru. Part II: Shortwave Flux Closure." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 61, no. 21 (November 1, 2004): 2602–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3299.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The datasets currently being collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program on the islands of Nauru and Manus represent the longest time series of ground-based cloud measurements in the tropical western Pacific region. In this series of papers, a shortwave flux closure study is presented using observations collected at the Nauru site between June 1999 and May 2000. The first paper presented frequency of occurrence of nonprecipitating clouds detected by the millimeter-wavelength cloud radar (MMCR) at Nauru and statistics of their retrieved microphysical properties. This paper presents estimates of the cloud radiative effect over the study period and results from a closure study in which retrieved cloud properties are input to a radiative transfer model and the modeled surface fluxes are compared to observations. The average surface shortwave cloud radiative forcing is 48.2 W m−2, which is significantly smaller than the cloud radiative forcing estimates found during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) field project. The difference in the estimates during the two periods is due to the variability in cloud amount over Nauru during different phases of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the closure study, modeled and observed surface fluxes show large differences at short time scales, due to the temporal and spatial variability of the clouds observed at Nauru. Averaging over 60 min reduces the average root-mean-square difference in total flux to 10% of the observed flux. Modeled total downwelling fluxes are unbiased with respect to the observed fluxes while direct fluxes are underestimated and diffuse fluxes are overestimated. Examination of the differences indicates that cloud amount derived from the ground-based measurements is an overestimate of the radiatively important cloud amount due to the anisotropy of the cloud field at Nauru, interpolation of the radar data, uncertainty in the microwave brightness temperature measurements for thin clouds, and the uncertainty in relating the sixth moment of the droplet size distribution observed by the radar to the more radiatively important moments.
32
Gilgen, Anina, Wan Ting Katty Huang, Luisa Ickes, David Neubauer, and Ulrike Lohmann. "How important are future marine and shipping aerosol emissions in a warming Arctic summer and autumn?" Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 14 (July 24, 2018): 10521–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10521-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Future sea ice retreat in the Arctic in summer and autumn is expected to affect both natural and anthropogenic aerosol emissions: sea ice acts as a barrier between the ocean and the atmosphere, and reducing it increases dimethyl sulfide and sea salt emissions. Additionally, a decrease in the area and thickness of sea ice could lead to enhanced Arctic ship traffic, for example due to shorter routes of cargo ships. Changes in the emissions of aerosol particles can then influence cloud properties, precipitation, surface albedo, and radiation. Next to changes in aerosol emissions, clouds will also be affected by increases in Arctic temperatures and humidities. In this study, we quantify how future aerosol radiative forcings and cloud radiative effects might change in the Arctic in late summer (July–August) and early autumn (September–October). Simulations were conducted for the years 2004 and 2050 with the global aerosol–climate model ECHAM6-HAM2. For 2050, simulations with and without additional ship emissions in the Arctic were carried out to quantify the impact of these emissions on the Arctic climate. In the future, sea salt as well as dimethyl sulfide emissions and burdens will increase in the Arctic. The increase in cloud condensation nuclei, which is due to changes in aerosol particles and meteorology, will enhance cloud droplet number concentrations over the Arctic Ocean (+10 % in late summer and +29 % in early autumn; in-cloud values averaged between 75 and 90∘ N). Furthermore, both liquid and total water path will increase (+10 % and +8 % in late summer; +34 % and +26 % in early autumn) since the specific humidity will be enhanced due to higher temperatures and the exposure of the ocean's surface. Changes in both aerosol radiative forcings and cloud radiative effects at the top of the atmosphere will not be dominated by the aerosol particles and clouds themselves but by the decrease in surface albedo (and by the increase in surface temperature for the longwave cloud radiative effect in early autumn). Mainly due to the reduction in sea ice, the aerosol radiative forcing will become less positive (decreasing from 0.53 to 0.36 W m−2 in late summer and from 0.15 to 0.11 W m−2 in early autumn). The decrease in sea ice is also mainly responsible for changes in the net cloud radiative effect, which will become more negative in late summer (changing from −36 to −46 W m−2). Therefore, the cooling component of both aerosols and clouds will gain importance in the future. We found that future Arctic ship emissions related to transport and oil and gas extraction (Peters et al., 2011) will not have a large impact on clouds and radiation: changes in aerosols only become significant when we increase these ship emissions by a factor of 10. However, even with 10-fold ship emissions, the net aerosol radiative forcing shows no significant changes. Enhanced black carbon deposition on snow leads to a locally significant but very small increase in radiative forcing over the central Arctic Ocean in early autumn (no significant increase for average between 75 and 90∘ N). Furthermore, the 10-fold higher ship emissions increase the optical thickness and lifetime of clouds in late summer (net cloud radiative effect changing from −48 to −52 W m−2). These aerosol–cloud effects have a considerably larger influence on the radiative forcing than the direct effects of particles (both aerosol particles in the atmosphere and particles deposited on snow). In summary, future ship emissions of aerosols and their precursor gases might have a net cooling effect, which is small compared to other changes in future Arctic climate such as those caused by the decrease in surface albedo.
33
Possner, Anna, Hailong Wang, Robert Wood, Ken Caldeira, and Thomas P. Ackerman. "The efficacy of aerosol–cloud radiative perturbations from near-surface emissions in deep open-cell stratocumuli." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 23 (December 11, 2018): 17475–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17475-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Aerosol–cloud radiative effects are determined and quantified in simulations of deep open-cell stratocumuli observed during the VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx) campaign off the west coast of Chile. The cloud deck forms in a boundary layer 1.5 km deep, with cell sizes reaching 50 km in diameter. Global databases of ship tracks suggest that these linear structures are seldom found in boundary layers this deep. Here, we quantify the changes in cloud radiative properties to a continuous aerosol point source moving along a fixed emission line releasing 1017 particles per second. We show that a spatially coherent cloud perturbation is not evident along the emission line. Yet our model simulates an increase in domain-mean all-sky albedo of 0.05, corresponding to a diurnally averaged cloud radiative effect of 20 W m−2, given the annual mean solar insolation at the VOCALS-REx site. Therefore, marked changes in cloud radiative properties in precipitating deep open cells may be driven by anthropogenic near-surface aerosol perturbations, such as those generated by ships. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these changes in cloud radiative properties are masked by the naturally occurring variability within the organised cloud field. A clear detection and attribution of cloud radiative effects to a perturbation in aerosol concentrations becomes possible when sub-filtering of the cloud field is applied, using the spatio-temporal distribution of the aerosol perturbation. Therefore, this work has implications for the detection and attribution of effective cloud radiative forcing in marine stratocumuli, which constitutes one of the major physical uncertainties within the climate system. Our results suggest that ships may sometimes have a substantial radiative effect on marine clouds and albedo, even when ship tracks are not readily visible.
34
Alexandri, Georgia, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, and Dimitris Balis. "Effect of Aerosols, Tropospheric NO2 and Clouds on Surface Solar Radiation over the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece)." Remote Sensing 13, no. 13 (July 1, 2021): 2587. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13132587.
Full textAbstract:
In this work, the effect that two basic air quality indexes, aerosols and tropospheric NO2, exert on surface solar radiation (SSR) is studied, along with the effect of liquid and ice clouds over 16 locations in Greece, in the heart of the Eastern Mediterranean. State-of-the-art satellite-based observations and climatological data for the 15-year period 2005–2019, and a radiative transfer system based on a modified version of the Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model are used. Our SSR simulations are in good agreement with ground observations and two satellite products. It is shown that liquid clouds dominate, with an annual radiative effect (RE) of −36 W/m2, with ice clouds (−19 W/m2) and aerosols (−13 W/m2) following. The radiative effect of tropospheric NO2 is smaller by two orders of magnitude (−0.074 W/m2). Under clear skies, REaer is about 3–4 times larger than for liquid and ice cloud-covered skies, while RENO2 doubles. The radiative effect of all the parameters exhibits a distinct seasonal cycle. An increase in SSR is observed for the period 2005–2019 (positive trends ranging from 0.01 to 0.52 W/m2/year), which is mostly related to a decrease in the aerosol optical depth and the liquid cloud fraction.
35
Dong, Xiquan, Baike Xi, and Patrick Minnis. "A Climatology of Midlatitude Continental Clouds from the ARM SGP Central Facility. Part II: Cloud Fraction and Surface Radiative Forcing." Journal of Climate 19, no. 9 (May 1, 2006): 1765–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3710.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Data collected at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility (SCF) are analyzed to determine the monthly and hourly variations of cloud fraction and radiative forcing between January 1997 and December 2002. Cloud fractions are estimated for total cloud cover and for single-layered low (0–3 km), middle (3–6 km), and high clouds (>6 km) using ARM SCF ground-based paired lidar–radar measurements. Shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) fluxes are derived from up- and down-looking standard precision spectral pyranometers and precision infrared radiometer measurements with uncertainties of ∼10 W m−2. The annual averages of total and single-layered low-, middle-, and high-cloud fractions are 0.49, 0.11, 0.03, and 0.17, respectively. Both total- and low-cloud amounts peak during January and February and reach a minimum during July and August; high clouds occur more frequently than other types of clouds with a peak in summer. The average annual downwelling surface SW fluxes for total and low clouds (151 and 138 W m−2, respectively) are less than those under middle and high clouds (188 and 201 W m−2, respectively), but the downwelling LW fluxes (349 and 356 W m−2) underneath total and low clouds are greater than those from middle and high clouds (337 and 333 W m−2). Low clouds produce the largest LW warming (55 W m−2) and SW cooling (−91 W m−2) effects with maximum and minimum absolute values in spring and summer, respectively. High clouds have the smallest LW warming (17 W m−2) and SW cooling (−37 W m−2) effects at the surface. All-sky SW cloud radiative forcing (CRF) decreases and LW CRF increases with increasing cloud fraction with mean slopes of −0.984 and 0.616 W m−2 %−1, respectively. Over the entire diurnal cycle, clouds deplete the amount of surface insolation more than they add to the downwelling LW flux. The calculated CRFs do not appear to be significantly affected by uncertainties in data sampling and clear-sky screening. Traditionally, cloud radiative forcing includes not only the radiative impact of the hydrometeors, but also the changes in the environment. Taken together over the ARM SCF, changes in humidity and surface albedo between clear and cloudy conditions offset ∼20% of the NET radiative forcing caused by the cloud hydrometeors alone. Variations in water vapor, on average, account for 10% and 83% of the SW and LW CRFs, respectively, in total cloud cover conditions. The error analysis further reveals that the cloud hydrometeors dominate the SW CRF, while water vapor changes are most important for LW flux changes in cloudy skies. Similar studies over other locales are encouraged where water and surface albedo changes from clear to cloudy conditions may be much different than observed over the ARM SCF.
36
Narizhnaya, Alexandra, and Alexander Chernokulsky. "Cloud Characteristics during Intense Cold Air Outbreaks over the Barents Sea Based on Satellite Data." Atmosphere 15, no. 3 (March 2, 2024): 317. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos15030317.
Full textAbstract:
The Arctic experiences remarkable changes in environmental parameters that affect fluctuations in the surface energy budget, including radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes. Cold air masses and cloud transformations during marine cold air outbreaks (MCAOs) substantially influence the radiative fluxes, thereby shaping the link between large-scale dynamics, sea ice conditions, and the surface energy budget. In this study, we investigate various cloud characteristics during intense MCAOs over the Barents Sea from 2000 to 2018 using satellite data. We identify 72 intense MCAO events that propagated southward using reanalysis data of the surface temperature and potential temperature at the 800 hPa level. We investigate the macro- and microphysical parameters and radiative properties of clouds within selected MCAOs, their dependence on sea ice concentration, and their initial air mass properties using satellite data. A significant increase in low-level clouds near the ice edge (up to +25% anomalies) and a smooth transition to upper-level clouds is revealed. The total cloud top height during intense MCAOs is generally 500–700 m lower than under neutral conditions. MCAOs induce a positive net cloud radiative effect, which peaks at +20 W m−2 (100 km from the ice edge) and gradually decreases towards the continent (−2.3 W m−2 per 100 km). Our study provides evidence for the importance of changes in the cloud radiative effect within MCAOs, which should be accurately simulated in regional and global climate models.
37
Hong, Yulan, Guosheng Liu, and J. L. F. Li. "Assessing the Radiative Effects of Global Ice Clouds Based on CloudSat and CALIPSO Measurements." Journal of Climate 29, no. 21 (October 6, 2016): 7651–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0799.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Although it is well established that cirrus warms Earth, the radiative effect of the entire spectrum of ice clouds is not well understood. In this study, the role of all ice clouds in Earth’s radiation budget is investigated by performing radiative transfer modeling using ice cloud properties retrieved from CloudSat and CALIPSO measurements as inputs. Results show that, for the 2008 period, the warming effect (~21.8 ± 5.4 W m−2) induced by ice clouds trapping longwave radiation exceeds their cooling effect (~−16.7 ± 1.7 W m−2) caused by shortwave reflection, resulting in a net warming effect (~5.1 ± 3.8 W m−2) globally on the earth–atmosphere system. The net warming is over 15 W m−2 in the tropical deep convective regions, whereas cooling occurs in the midlatitudes, which is less than 10 W m−2 in magnitude. Seasonal variations of ice cloud radiative effects are evident in the midlatitudes where the net effect changes from warming during winter to cooling during summer, whereas warming occurs all year-round in the tropics. Ice cloud optical depth τ is shown to be an important factor in determining the sign and magnitude of the net radiative effect. Ice clouds with τ < 4.6 display a warming effect with the largest contributions from those with τ ≈ 1.0. In addition, ice clouds cause vertically differential heating and cooling of the atmosphere, particularly with strong heating in the upper troposphere over the tropics. At Earth’s surface, ice clouds produce a cooling effect no matter how small the τ value is.
38
Hogan, Robin J., Mark D. Fielding, Howard W. Barker, Najda Villefranque, and Sophia A. K. Schäfer. "Entrapment: An Important Mechanism to Explain the Shortwave 3D Radiative Effect of Clouds." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 2019, no. 1 (July 1, 2019): 48–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-18-0366.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractSeveral mechanisms have previously been proposed to explain differences between the shortwave reflectance of realistic cloud scenes computed using the 1D independent column approximation (ICA) and 3D solutions of the radiative transfer equation. When the sun is low in the sky, interception of sunlight by cloud sides tends to increase reflectance relative to ICA estimates that neglect this effect. When the sun is high, 3D radiative transfer tends to make clouds less reflective, which we argue is explained by the mechanism of “entrapment” whereby horizontal transport of radiation beneath a cloud layer increases the chances, relative to the ICA, of light being absorbed by cloud or the surface. It is especially important for multilayered cloud scenes. We describe modifications to the previously described Speedy Algorithm for Radiative Transfer through Cloud Sides (SPARTACUS) to represent different entrapment assumptions, and test their impact on 65 contrasting scenes from a cloud-resolving model. When entrapment is represented explicitly via a calculation of the mean horizontal distance traveled by reflected light, SPARTACUS predicts a mean “3D radiative effect” (the difference in top-of-atmosphere irradiances between 3D and ICA calculations) of 8.1 W m−2 for overhead sun. This is within 2% of broadband Monte Carlo calculations on the same scenes. The importance of entrapment is highlighted by the finding that the extreme assumptions in SPARTACUS of “zero entrapment” and “maximum entrapment” lead to corresponding mean 3D radiative effects of 1.7 and 19.6 W m−2, respectively.
39
Wolf, Kevin, Nicolas Bellouin, and Olivier Boucher. "Sensitivity of cirrus and contrail radiative effect on cloud microphysical and environmental parameters." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 23, no. 21 (November 9, 2023): 14003–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14003-2023.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Natural cirrus clouds and contrails cover about 30 % of the Earth's mid-latitudes and up to 70 % of the tropics. Due to their widespread occurrence, cirrus clouds have a considerable impact on the Earth energy budget, which, on average, leads to a warming net radiative effect (solar + thermal infrared). However, whether the instantaneous radiative effect (RE), which in some cases corresponds to a radiative forcing, of natural cirrus or contrails is positive or negative depends on their microphysical, macrophysical, and optical properties, as well as the radiative properties of the environment. This is further complicated by the fact that the actual ice crystal shape is often unknown, and thus, ice clouds remain one of the components that are least understood in the Earth's radiative budget. The present study aims to investigate the dependency of the effect on cirrus RE on eight parameters, namely solar zenith angle, ice water content, ice crystal effective radius, cirrus temperature, surface albedo, surface temperature, cloud optical thickness of an underlying liquid water cloud, and three ice crystal shapes. In total, 283 500 plane-parallel radiative transfer simulations have been performed, not including three-dimensional scattering effects. Parameter ranges are selected that are typically associated with natural cirrus and contrails. In addition, the effect of variations in the relative humidity profile and the ice cloud geometric thickness have been investigated for a sub-set of the simulations. The multi-dimensionality and complexity of the eight-dimensional parameter space makes it impractical to discuss all potential configurations in detail. Therefore, specific cases are selected and discussed. For a given parameter combination, the largest impact on solar, thermal-infrared (TIR), and net RE is related to the ice crystal effective radius. The second most important parameter is ice water content, which equally impacts the solar and terrestrial RE. The solar RE of cirrus is also determined by solar zenith angle, surface albedo, liquid cloud optical thickness, and ice crystal shape (in descending priority). RE in the TIR spectrum is dominated by surface temperature, ice cloud temperature, liquid water cloud optical thickness, and ice crystal shape. Net RE is controlled by surface albedo, solar zenith angle, and surface temperature in decreasing importance. The relative importance of the studied parameters differs, depending on the ambient conditions. Furthermore, and during nighttime the net RE is equal to the TIR RE. The data set generated in this work is publicly available. It can be used as a lookup table to extract the RE of cirrus clouds, contrails, and contrail cirrus instead of full radiative transfer calculations.
40
Marquardt Collow, Allison B., and Mark A. Miller. "The Seasonal Cycle of the Radiation Budget and Cloud Radiative Effect in the Amazon Rain Forest of Brazil." Journal of Climate 29, no. 21 (October 6, 2016): 7703–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0089.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Changes in the climate system of the Amazon rain forest of Brazil can impact factors that influence the radiation budget such as clouds, atmospheric moisture, and the surface albedo. This study examines the relationships between clouds and radiation in this region using surface observations from the first year of the deployment of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Mobile Facility 1 (AMF1) in Manacapuru, Brazil, and satellite measurements from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES). The seasonal cycles of the radiation budget and cloud radiative effects (CREs) are evaluated at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), at the surface, and within the atmospheric column using these observations and are placed into a regional context using the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). Water vapor and clouds are abundant throughout the year, even though slight decreases are observed in the dry season. The column water vapor load is large enough that the longwave radiative flux divergence is nearly constant throughout the year. Clouds produce a significant shortwave CRE at the surface and TOA, exceeding 200 W m−2 during the wet season. Discrepancies, especially in column shortwave radiative absorption, between the observations and MERRA-2 are demonstrated that warrant additional analysis of the microphysical and macrophysical cloud properties in MERRA-2. More trustworthy fields in the MERRA-2 product suggest that the expansive nearby river system impacts the regional radiation budget and thereby renders AMF1 observations potentially biased relative to regions farther removed from rivers within the Amazon rain forest.
41
Ebell, Kerstin, Tatiana Nomokonova, Marion Maturilli, and Christoph Ritter. "Radiative Effect of Clouds at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, as Inferred from Ground-Based Remote Sensing Observations." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 59, no. 1 (January 2020): 3–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-19-0080.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractFor the first time, the cloud radiative effect (CRE) has been characterized for the Arctic site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway, including more than 2 years of data (June 2016–September 2018). The cloud radiative effect, that is, the difference between the all-sky and equivalent clear-sky net radiative fluxes, has been derived based on a combination of ground-based remote sensing observations of cloud properties and the application of broadband radiative transfer simulations. The simulated fluxes have been evaluated in terms of a radiative closure study. Good agreement with observed surface net shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) fluxes has been found, with small biases for clear-sky (SW: 3.8 W m−2; LW: −4.9 W m−2) and all-sky (SW: −5.4 W m−2; LW: −0.2 W m−2) situations. For monthly averages, uncertainties in the CRE are estimated to be small (~2 W m−2). At Ny-Ålesund, the monthly net surface CRE is positive from September to April/May and negative in summer. The annual surface warming effect by clouds is 11.1 W m−2. The longwave surface CRE of liquid-containing cloud is mainly driven by liquid water path (LWP) with an asymptote value of 75 W m−2 for large LWP values. The shortwave surface CRE can largely be explained by LWP, solar zenith angle, and surface albedo. Liquid-containing clouds (LWP > 5 g m−2) clearly contribute most to the shortwave surface CRE (70%–98%) and, from late spring to autumn, also to the longwave surface CRE (up to 95%). Only in winter are ice clouds (IWP > 0 g m−2; LWP < 5 g m−2) equally important or even dominating the signal in the longwave surface CRE.
42
Rojas Muñoz, Oscar Javier, Marjolaine Chiriaco, Sophie Bastin, and Justine Ringard. "Estimation of the terms acting on local 1 h surface temperature variations in Paris region: the specific contribution of clouds." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21, no. 20 (October 21, 2021): 15699–723. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15699-2021.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Local short-term temperature variations at the surface are mainly dominated by small-scale processes coupled through the surface energy balance terms, which are well known but whose specific contribution and importance on the hourly scale still need to be further analyzed. A method to determine each of these terms based almost exclusively on observations is presented in this paper, with the main objective being to estimate their importance in hourly near-surface temperature variations at the SIRTA observatory, near Paris. Almost all terms are estimated from the multi-year dataset SIRTA-ReOBS, following a few parametrizations. The four main terms acting on temperature variations are radiative forcing (separated into clear-sky and cloudy-sky radiation), atmospheric heat exchange, ground heat exchange, and advection. Compared to direct measurements of hourly temperature variations, it is shown that the sum of the four terms gives a good estimate of the hourly temperature variations, allowing a better assessment of the contribution of each term to the variation, with an accurate diurnal and annual cycle representation, especially for the radiative terms. A random forest analysis shows that whatever the season, clouds are the main modulator of the clear-sky radiation for 1 h temperature variations during the day and mainly drive these 1 h temperature variations during the night. Then, the specific role of clouds is analyzed exclusively in cloudy conditions considering the behavior of some classical meteorological variables along with lidar profiles. Cloud radiative effect in shortwave and longwave and lidar profiles show a consistent seasonality during the daytime, with a dominance of mid- and high-level clouds detected at the SIRTA observatory, which also affects near-surface temperatures and upward sensible heat flux. During the nighttime, despite cloudy conditions and having a strong cloud longwave radiative effect, temperatures are the lowest and are therefore mostly controlled by larger-scale processes at this time.
43
Inoue, Jun, Jiping Liu, James O. Pinto, and Judith A. Curry. "Intercomparison of Arctic Regional Climate Models: Modeling Clouds and Radiation for SHEBA in May 1998." Journal of Climate 19, no. 17 (September 1, 2006): 4167–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3854.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract To improve simulations of the Arctic climate and to quantify climate model errors, four regional climate models [the Arctic Regional Climate System Model (ARCSYM), the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS), the High-Resolution Limited-Area Model (HIRHAM), and the Rossby Center Atmospheric Model (RCA)] have simulated the annual Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) under the Arctic Regional Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ARCMIP). The same lateral boundary and ocean surface boundary conditions (i.e., ice concentration and surface temperature) drive all of the models. This study evaluated modeled surface heat fluxes and cloud fields during May 1998, a month that included the onset of the surface icemelt. In general, observations agreed with simulated surface pressure and near-surface air properties. Simulation errors due to surface fluxes and cloud effects biased the net simulated surface heat flux, which in turn affected the timing of the simulated icemelt. Modeled cloud geometry and precipitation suggest that the RCA model produced the most accurate cloud scheme, followed by the HIRHAM model. Evaluation of a relationship between cloud water paths and radiation showed that a radiative transfer scheme in ARCSYM was closely matched with the observation when liquid clouds were dominant. Clouds and radiation are of course closely linked, and an additional comparison of the radiative transfer codes for ARCSYM and COAMPS was performed for clear-sky conditions, thereby excluding cloud effects. Overall, the schemes for radiative transfer in ARCSYM and for cloud microphysics in RCA potentially have some advantages for modeling the springtime Arctic.
44
Park, Sunwook, and Xiaoqing Wu. "Effects of Surface Albedo on Cloud and Radiation Processes in Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 67, no. 5 (May 1, 2010): 1474–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jas3291.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The relationship among the surface albedo, cloud properties, and radiative fluxes is investigated for the first time using a year-long cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulation with the prescribed evolving surface albedo. In comparison with the run using a fixed surface albedo, the CRM with the observed surface albedo represents the shortwave radiative budget closer to the observations in the winter. The greater surface albedo induces weaker instability in the low troposphere so that the amount of low clouds decreases during the winter. This reduces the shortwave and longwave cloud radiative forcing at the surface. The analysis of the CRM simulations with the evolving surface albedo reveals that there is a critical value (0.35) of the surface albedo. For albedos greater than the critical value, the upward shortwave flux at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is positively proportional to the surface albedos when optically thin clouds exist, and is not much affected by reflection on the cloud top. If optically thick clouds occur and the surface albedo is greater than the critical value, the upward shortwave flux at the TOA is significantly influenced by the reflection of cloud top, but not much affected by the surface albedo. In addition, for albedos larger than the critical value, the downward shortwave flux at the surface is primarily influenced by the surface albedo and the reflection from the cloud base if optically thick clouds occur. However, the downward shortwave flux at the surface is not significantly affected by the surface albedo when optically thin clouds exist because the reflection on the cloud base is weak. When surface albedos are less than the critical value, those relationships among surface albedo, shortwave flux, and cloud properties are not obvious. The surface albedo effect on shortwave flux increases as solar zenith angle (SZA) decreases, but its dependence on the SZA is negligible when optically thick clouds exist.
45
Grabowski, Wojciech W. "Indirect Impact of Atmospheric Aerosols in Idealized Simulations of Convective–Radiative Quasi Equilibrium." Journal of Climate 19, no. 18 (September 15, 2006): 4664–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3857.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract This paper discusses a cloud-resolving modeling study concerning the impact of warm-rain microphysics on convective–radiative quasi equilibrium with fixed surface characteristics and prescribed solar input, both mimicking the mean conditions on earth. Two limits of the concentration of cloud droplets, either 100 cm−3 (referred to as “pristine”) or 1000 cm−3 (referred to as “polluted”), are considered. In addition, three formulations of the effective radius of water droplets in diluted cloudy volumes are used, corresponding to the homogeneous, intermediate, and extremely inhomogeneous mixing scenarios. The assumed concentration of cloud droplets, together with the assumed mixing scenario, affects the local value of the effective radius of cloud droplets (the first indirect aerosol effect, also known as the Twomey effect) and the transfer of cloud water into drizzle and rain, which can affect the mean cloudiness and the hydrologic cycle (the second indirect effect). The convective–radiative quasi equilibrium mimics the estimates of globally and annually averaged water and energy fluxes across the earth’s atmosphere to within less than 10 W m−2. As on earth, the model cloudiness is dominated by shallow convection. It is found that the impact of warm microphysics is dominated by the first indirect effect, whereas the second indirect effect has a smaller impact. The assumed droplet concentration and mixing scenario impact the mean “planetary” albedo and, thus, the amount of solar energy reaching the surface, with all other components of atmospheric energy and water budgets virtually the same in all simulations. The weak second indirect effect highlights the difference between the impact of cloud microphysics on a single cloud and the impact on an ensemble of clouds, with only the latter including the feedbacks between clouds and their environment. The formulation of the effective radius in the diluted cloudy volumes turns out to be of critical importance, with the amount of solar energy reaching the surface being the same in the pristine case assuming the homogeneous mixing scenario and in the polluted case with the extremely inhomogeneous mixing. This result emphasizes the essential role of poorly understood microphysical transformations within diluted convective clouds, which strongly impact the magnitude of the first indirect (Twomey) effect. Implications for future research in this area are discussed.
46
Protat, A., S. A. Young, S. A. McFarlane, T. L’Ecuyer, G. G. Mace, J. M. Comstock, C. N. Long, E. Berry, and J. Delanoë. "Reconciling Ground-Based and Space-Based Estimates of the Frequency of Occurrence and Radiative Effect of Clouds around Darwin, Australia." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 53, no. 2 (February 2014): 456–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-13-072.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe objective of this paper is to investigate whether estimates of the cloud frequency of occurrence and associated cloud radiative forcing as derived from ground-based and satellite active remote sensing and radiative transfer calculations can be reconciled over a well-instrumented active remote sensing site located in Darwin, Australia, despite the very different viewing geometry and instrument characteristics. It is found that the ground-based radar–lidar combination at Darwin does not detect most of the cirrus clouds above 10 km (because of limited lidar detection capability and signal obscuration by low-level clouds) and that the CloudSat radar–Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) combination underreports the hydrometeor frequency of occurrence below 2-km height because of instrument limitations at these heights. The radiative impact associated with these differences in cloud frequency of occurrence is large on the surface downwelling shortwave fluxes (ground and satellite) and the top-of-atmosphere upwelling shortwave and longwave fluxes (ground). Good agreement is found for other radiative fluxes. Large differences in radiative heating rate as derived from ground and satellite radar–lidar instruments and radiative transfer calculations are also found above 10 km (up to 0.35 K day−1 for the shortwave and 0.8 K day−1 for the longwave). Given that the ground-based and satellite estimates of cloud frequency of occurrence and radiative impact cannot be fully reconciled over Darwin, caution should be exercised when evaluating the representation of clouds and cloud–radiation interactions in large-scale models, and limitations of each set of instrumentation should be considered when interpreting model–observation differences.
47
Wilcox, E. M. "Direct and semi-direct radiative forcing of smoke aerosols over clouds." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 11, no. 7 (July 25, 2011): 20947–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-11-20947-2011.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Observations from Earth observing satellites indicate that dark carbonaceous aerosols that absorb solar radiation are widespread in the tropics and subtropics. When these aerosols mix with clouds, there is generally a reduction of cloudiness owing to absorption of solar energy in the aerosol layer. Over the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean, where smoke from savannah burning in southern Africa resides above a persistent deck of marine stratocumulus clouds, radiative heating of the smoke layer leads to a thickening of the cloud layer. Here, satellite observations of the albedo of overcast scenes of 25 km2 size or larger are combined with additional satellite observations of clouds and aerosols to estimate the top-of-atmosphere direct radiative forcing attributable to presence of dark aerosol above bright cloud, and the negative semi-direct forcing attributable to the thickening of the cloud layer. The average positive direct radiative forcing by smoke over an overcast scene is 9.2±6.6 W m−2 for cases with an unambiguous signal of absorbing aerosol over cloud in passive ultraviolet remote sensing observations. However, cloud liquid water path is enhanced by 16.3±7.7 g m−2 across the range of values for sea surface temperature for cases of smoke over cloud. The negative radiative forcing associated with this semi-direct effect of smoke over clouds is estimated to be −5.9±3.5 W m−2. Therefore, the cooling associated with the semi-direct cloud thickening effect compensates for greater than 60 % of the direct radiative effect. Accounting for the frequency of occurrence of significant absorbing aerosol above overcast scenes leads to an estimate of the average direct forcing of 1.0±0.7 W m−2 contributed by these scenes averaged over the subtropical southeast Atlantic Ocean during austral winter. The regional average of the negative semi-direct forcing is −0.7±0.4 W m−2. Therefore, smoke aerosols overlaying the decks of overcast marine stratocumulus clouds considered here yield a small net positive radiative forcing, which results from the difference of two larger effects.
48
Wilcox, E. M. "Direct and semi-direct radiative forcing of smoke aerosols over clouds." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 12, no. 1 (January 3, 2012): 139–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-139-2012.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Observations from Earth observing satellites indicate that dark carbonaceous aerosols that absorb solar radiation are widespread in the tropics and subtropics. When these aerosols mix with clouds, there is generally a reduction of cloudiness owing to absorption of solar energy in the aerosol layer. Over the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean, where smoke from savannah burning in southern Africa resides above a persistent deck of marine stratocumulus clouds, radiative heating of the smoke layer leads to a thickening of the cloud layer. Here, satellite observations of the albedo of overcast scenes of 25 km2 size or larger are combined with additional satellite observations of clouds and aerosols to estimate the top-of-atmosphere direct radiative forcing attributable to presence of dark aerosol above bright cloud, and the negative semi-direct forcing attributable to the thickening of the cloud layer. The average positive direct radiative forcing by smoke over an overcast scene is 9.2±6.6 W m−2 for cases with an unambiguous signal of absorbing aerosol over cloud in passive ultraviolet remote sensing observations. However, cloud liquid water path is enhanced by 16.3±7.7 g m−2 across the range of values for sea surface temperature for cases of smoke over cloud. The negative radiative forcing associated with this semi-direct effect of smoke over clouds is estimated to be −5.9±3.5 W m−2. Therefore, the cooling associated with the semi-direct cloud thickening effect compensates for greater than 60 % of the direct radiative effect. Accounting for the frequency of occurrence of significant absorbing aerosol above overcast scenes leads to an estimate of the average direct forcing of 1.0±0.7 W m−2 contributed by these scenes averaged over the subtropical southeast Atlantic Ocean during austral winter. The regional average of the negative semi-direct forcing is −0.7±0.4 W m−2. Therefore, smoke aerosols overlaying the decks of overcast marine stratocumulus clouds considered here yield a small net positive radiative forcing, which results from the difference of two larger effects.
49
Wu, Xiaoqing, and Xin-Zhong Liang. "Radiative Effects of Cloud Horizontal Inhomogeneity and Vertical Overlap Identified from a Monthlong Cloud-Resolving Model Simulation." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 62, no. 11 (November 1, 2005): 4105–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3565.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The representation of subgrid horizontal and vertical variability of clouds in radiation schemes remains a major challenge for general circulation models (GCMs) due to the lack of cloud-scale observations and incomplete physical understanding. The development of cloud-resolving models (CRMs) in the last decade provides a unique opportunity to make progress in this area of research. This paper extends the study of Wu and Moncrieff to quantify separately the impacts of cloud horizontal inhomogeneity (optical property) and vertical overlap (geometry) on the domain-averaged shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and the surface, and the radiative heating profiles. The diagnostic radiation calculations using the monthlong CRM-simulated tropical cloud optical properties and cloud fraction show that both horizontal inhomogeneity and vertical overlap of clouds are equally important for obtaining accurate radiative fluxes and heating rates. This study illustrates an objective approach to use long-term CRM simulations to separate cloud overlap and inhomogeneity effects, based on which GCM representation (such as mosaic treatment) of subgrid cloud–radiation interactions can be evaluated and improved.
50
Chen, Guoxing, Wei-Chyung Wang, and Jen-Ping Chen. "Aerosol–Stratocumulus–Radiation Interactions over the Southeast Pacific." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 72, no. 7 (July 2015): 2612–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-14-0319.1.
Full textAbstract:
Atmosphere–ocean general circulation models tend to underestimate the solar radiative forcing by stratocumulus over the southeast Pacific, contributing to a warm sea surface temperature (SST) bias. The underestimation may be caused by biases in either macro- or micro- (or both) physical properties of clouds. This study used the WRF Model (incorporated with a physics-based two-moment cloud microphysical scheme) together with the 2008 Variability of the American Monsoon Systems Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Study (VOCALS) field observations to investigate the effects of anthropogenic aerosols on the stratocumulus properties and their subsequent effects on the surface radiation balance. The effects were studied by comparing two cases: a control case with the anthropogenic aerosols and a sensitivity case without the anthropogenic aerosols. Results show that the control case produced cloud properties comparable with the measurements by aircraft and that aerosol–cloud microphysical interactions play an important role in regulating solar cloud radiative forcing. As expected, the anthropogenic aerosols increase the cloud droplet number and decrease the cloud droplet size, resulting in an enhancement of solar cloud radiative forcing and a reduction in solar radiation reaching the sea surface, up to a maximum of about 30 W m−2 near the coast. Results also show that aerosol–cloud microphysics–radiation interactions are sensitive to cloud fraction, thus highlighting the role of cloud diurnal variation in studying the cloud–radiation interactions. Analysis of the high-resolution (3 km) model simulations reveals that there exists an inherent scale dependence of aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions, with coarser horizontal resolution yielding a weaker variability.