scholarly journals Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing Uncertainty Based on a Radiative Perturbation Analysis

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (19) ◽  
pp. 5288-5293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman G. Loeb ◽  
Wenying Su

Abstract To provide a lower bound for the uncertainty in measurement-based clear- and all-sky direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF), a radiative perturbation analysis is performed for the ideal case in which the perturbations in global mean aerosol properties are given by published values of systematic uncertainty in Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) aerosol measurements. DARF calculations for base-state climatological cloud and aerosol properties over ocean and land are performed, and then repeated after perturbing individual aerosol optical properties (aerosol optical depth, single-scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, scale height, and anthropogenic fraction) from their base values, keeping all other parameters fixed. The total DARF uncertainty from all aerosol parameters combined is 0.5–1.0 W m−2, a factor of 2–4 greater than the value cited in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Fourth Assessment Report. Most of the total DARF uncertainty in this analysis is associated with single-scattering albedo uncertainty. Owing to the greater sensitivity to single-scattering albedo in cloudy columns, DARF uncertainty in all-sky conditions is greater than in clear-sky conditions, even though the global mean clear-sky DARF is more than twice as large as the all-sky DARF.

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 8585-8628 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Santos ◽  
M. J. Costa ◽  
A. M. Silva

Abstract. The estimation of radiative forcing due to desert dust and forest fires aerosols is a very important issue since these particles are very efficient at scattering and absorbing both short and longwave radiation. In this work, the evaluation of the aerosol radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere over the south of Portugal is made, particularly in the regions of Évora and of Cabo da Roca. The radiative transfer calculations combine ground-based and satellite measurements, to estimate the top of the atmosphere direct SW aerosol radiative forcing. The method developed to retrieve the surface spectral reflectance is also presented, based on ground-based measurements of the aerosol optical properties combined with the satellite-measured radiances. The aerosol direct radiative effect is shown to be very sensitive to the underlying surface, since different surface spectral reflectance values may originate different forcing values. The results obtained also illustrate the importance of considering the actual aerosol properties, in this case measured by ground-based instrumentation, particularly the aerosol single scattering albedo, because different aerosol single scattering albedo values can flip the sign of the direct SW aerosol radiative forcing. The instantaneous direct SW aerosol radiative forcing values obtained at the top of the atmosphere are, in the majority of the cases, negative, indicating a tendency for cooling the Earth. For Desert Dust aerosols, over Évora land region, the average forcing efficiency is estimated to be −25 W/m2/AOT0.55 whereas for Cabo da Roca area, the average forcing efficiency is −46 W/m2/AOT0.55. In the presence of Forest Fire aerosols, over Cabo da Roca region, the average value of forcing efficiency is −28 W/m2/AOT0.55 and over Évora region an average value of −33 W/m2/AOT0.55 is found.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 1082-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Satheesh ◽  
J. Srinivasan

Abstract Radiative forcing of aerosols is much more difficult to estimate than that of well-mixed gases due to the large spatial variability of aerosols and the lack of an adequate database on their radiative properties. Estimation of aerosol radiative forcing generally requires knowledge of its chemical composition, which is sparse. Ground-based sky radiance measurements [e.g., aerosol robotic network (AERONET)] can provide key parameters such as the single-scattering albedo, but in shipborne experiments over the ocean it is difficult to make sky radiance measurements and hence these experiments cannot provide parameters such as the single-scattering albedo. However, aerosol spectral optical depth data (cruise based as well as satellite retrieved) are available quite extensively over the ocean. Spectral optical depth measurements have been available since the 1970s, and spectral turbidity measurements (carried out at meteorological departments all over the world) have been available for several decades, while long-term continuous chemical composition information is not available. A new method to differentiate between scattering and absorbing aerosols is proposed here. This can be used to derive simple aerosol models that are optically equivalent and can simulate the observed aerosol optical properties and radiative fluxes, from spectral optical depth measurements. Thus, aerosol single-scattering albedo and, hence, aerosol radiative forcing can be estimated. Note that the proposed method is to estimate clear-sky aerosol radiative forcing (over regions where chemical composition data or sky radiance data are not available) and not to infer its exact chemical composition. Using several independent datasets from field experiments, it is demonstrated that the proposed method can be used to estimate aerosol radiative forcing (from spectral optical depths) with an accuracy of ±2 W m−2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 319 ◽  
pp. 02027
Author(s):  
Somia Ssouaby ◽  
Hafida Naim ◽  
Abdelouahid Tahiri ◽  
Salmane Bourekkadi

Mineral dust is one of the most important aerosol components in the Earth’s atmosphere. Desert aerosol constitute the main types of tropospheric aerosols whose optical property uncertainties are still quite important. In this study, we analyse the variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD), Angstrôm Exponent (α), Single Scattering Albedo (ω0) and aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) of desert aerosol recent measurements, for six AERONET sites covering the belt desert areas: Ouarzazate (Morocco), Tamanrasset (Algeria), El Farafra (Egypt), Mezaira (Unites Arab Emirates), Kuwait University (Kuwait), Dalanzadgad (Mongolia). The annual cycle of the aerosol optical depth dialy averages shows variable values due to the changeable weather and the Sahara source. The highests were recorded at the Sahara site (2.2 at Tamanrasset) and (2.9 at Kuwait-University). The spectral single scattering albedo SSA annual averages varies in the interval (0,8-0.95) indicating dominant scattering. Desert aerosol radiative forcing shows always a negative ARF with a maximums registred in July, -90 W/m2 at surface (Mezaira) and -26 W/m2 at the top of the atmosphere (Kuwait) that imply a general trend towards regional warming of the total column atmosphere with a maximum near +55 W/m2 observed in July at UAE.


Author(s):  
Claudia Di Biagio ◽  
Alcide di Sarra ◽  
Daniela Meloni ◽  
Francesco Monteleone ◽  
Salvatore Piacentino ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 433-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
Stephanie Fiedler ◽  
Stefan Kinne ◽  
Karsten Peters ◽  
Sebastian Rast ◽  
...  

Abstract. A simple plume implementation of the second version (v2) of the Max Planck Institute Aerosol Climatology, MACv2-SP, is described. MACv2-SP provides a prescription of anthropogenic aerosol optical properties and an associated Twomey effect. It was created to provide a harmonized description of post-1850 anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing for climate modeling studies. MACv2-SP has been designed to be easy to implement, change and use, and thereby enable studies exploring the climatic effects of different patterns of aerosol radiative forcing, including a Twomey effect. MACv2-SP is formulated in terms of nine spatial plumes associated with different major anthropogenic source regions. The shape of the plumes is fit to the Max Planck Institute Aerosol Climatology, version 2, whose present-day (2005) distribution is anchored by surface-based observations. Two types of plumes are considered: one predominantly associated with biomass burning, the other with industrial emissions. These differ in the prescription of their annual cycle and in their optical properties, thereby implicitly accounting for different contributions of absorbing aerosol to the different plumes. A Twomey effect for each plume is prescribed as a change in the host model's background cloud-droplet population density using relationships derived from satellite data. Year-to-year variations in the amplitude of the plumes over the historical period (1850–2016) are derived by scaling the plumes with associated national emission sources of SO2 and NH3. Experiments using MACv2-SP are performed with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. The globally and annually averaged instantaneous and effective aerosol radiative forcings are estimated to be −0.6 and −0.5 W m−2, respectively. Forcing from aerosol–cloud interactions (the Twomey effect) offsets the reduction of clear-sky forcing by clouds, so that the net effect of clouds on the aerosol forcing is small; hence, the clear-sky forcing, which is more readily measurable, provides a good estimate of the total aerosol forcing.


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 2877-2891 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Markowicz ◽  
P. J. Flatau ◽  
J. Remiszewska ◽  
M. Witek ◽  
E. A. Reid ◽  
...  

Abstract Aerosol radiative forcing in the Persian Gulf region is derived from data collected during the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Unified Aerosol Experiment (UAE2). This campaign took place in August and September of 2004. The land–sea-breeze circulation modulates the diurnal variability of the aerosol properties and aerosol radiative forcing at the surface. Larger aerosol radiative forcing is observed during the land breeze in comparison to the sea breeze. The aerosol optical properties change as the onshore wind brings slightly cleaner air. The mean diurnal value of the surface aerosol forcing during the UAE2 campaign is about −20 W m−2, which corresponds to large aerosol optical thickness (0.45 at 500 nm). The aerosol forcing efficiency [i.e., broadband shortwave forcing per unit optical depth at 550 nm, W m−2 (τ500)−1] is −53 W m−2 (τ500)−1 and the average single scattering albedo is 0.93 at 550 nm.


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