scholarly journals Feasibility of Ceilometers Data to Estimate Radiative Forcing Values: Application to Different Conditions around the COVID-19 Lockdown Period

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 3699
Author(s):  
Ruben Barragan ◽  
Francisco Molero ◽  
María José Granados-Muñoz ◽  
Pedro Salvador ◽  
Manuel Pujadas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Atmospheric Model ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Short Wave ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Heating Effect ◽  
Global Atmospheric Model

In this study, the feasibility of using ceilometer signals to retrieve radiative forcing values is evaluated. The Global Atmospheric Model (GAME) radiative transfer model is used to estimate the shortwave and longwave radiative forcing using an aerosol parameterization based on AERONET data and vertical profiles from a Lufft CHM-15k Nimbus ceilometer. First, eight cases confirmed as dusty days are analyzed to check the feasibility of using ceilometer profiles to feed GAME. The obtained radiative forcing estimates are in good agreement with the literature showing negative values in the short wave (SW) (cooling effect) and positive values in the long wave (LW) (heating effect), both at all levels. As in the literature, radiative forcing estimates show a strong dependence on variations in the aerosol optical depth (AOD), solar zenith angle (θz), surface temperature (ST), and single scattering albedo at 440 nm (SSA440). Thus, GAME can be fed using ceilometer measurements obtaining reliable results. Then, as the temporal evolution of the AOD440 between 27 January and 15 June compared to the 6-year weekly AERONET AOD440 average (from 2014 to 2019) shows a decrease because of the lockdown imposed in Spain due to the COVID-19, a total of 37 radiative forcing calculations without African dust, divided into 8 scenarios, are performed in order to check the effect of the lockdown measures in the radiative forcing. It is shown that the decrease in the AOD, during the lockdown, caused a decrease in the cooling effect in the SW spectral range at all levels. Besides, the increase in the ST increased the heating effect of the aerosols in the LW at the top of the atmosphere and the presence of pollution and absorbing particles (SSA440 < 0.90) caused an increase of the heating effect in the LW at the surface. Therefore, the observed variations in the radiative forcing estimates before and during the lockdown are directly related with the decrease in emissions of aerosols related to human activities.

scholarly journals Brown carbon aerosol in the North American continental troposphere: sources, abundance, and radiative forcing

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 7841-7858 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
E. Scheuer ◽  
J. Dibb ◽  
G. S. Diskin ◽  
L. D. Ziemba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
North American ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Measurement Range ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Brown Carbon ◽  
The North

Abstract. Chemical components of organic aerosol (OA) selectively absorb light at short wavelengths. In this study, the prevalence, sources, and optical importance of this so-called brown carbon (BrC) aerosol component are investigated throughout the North American continental tropospheric column during a summer of extensive biomass burning. Spectrophotometric absorption measurements on extracts of bulk aerosol samples collected from an aircraft over the central USA were analyzed to directly quantify BrC abundance. BrC was found to be prevalent throughout the 1 to 12 km altitude measurement range, with dramatic enhancements in biomass-burning plumes. BrC to black carbon (BC) ratios, under background tropospheric conditions, increased with altitude, consistent with a corresponding increase in the absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) determined from a three-wavelength particle soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The sum of inferred BC absorption and measured BrC absorption at 365 nm was within 3 % of the measured PSAP absorption for background conditions and 22 % for biomass burning. A radiative transfer model showed that BrC absorption reduced top-of-atmosphere (TOA) aerosol forcing by ~ 20 % in the background troposphere. Extensive radiative model simulations applying this study background tropospheric conditions provided a look-up chart for determining radiative forcing efficiencies of BrC as a function of a surface-measured BrC : BC ratio and single scattering albedo (SSA). The chart is a first attempt to provide a tool for better assessment of brown carbon's forcing effect when one is limited to only surface data. These results indicate that BrC is an important contributor to direct aerosol radiative forcing.

scholarly journals Estimation of mineral dust long-wave radiative forcing: sensitivity study to particle properties and application to real cases in the region of Barcelona

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 9213-9231 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sicard ◽  
S. Bertolín ◽  
M. Mallet ◽  
P. Dubuisson ◽  
A. Comerón
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Range ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Opposite Sign ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Short Wave ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Radiative Effect ◽  
Long Wave

Abstract. The aerosol radiative effect in the long-wave (LW) spectral range is sometimes not taken into account in atmospheric aerosol forcing studies at local scale because the LW aerosol effect is assumed to be negligible. At regional and global scale this effect is partially taken into account: aerosol absorption is taken into account but scattering is still neglected. However, aerosols with strong absorbing and scattering properties in the LW region, like mineral dust, can have a non-negligible radiative effect in the LW spectral range (both at surface and top of the atmosphere) which can counteract their cooling effect occurring in the short-wave spectral range. The first objective of this research is to perform a sensitivity study of mineral dust LW radiative forcing (RF) as a function of dust microphysical and optical properties using an accurate radiative transfer model which can compute vertically resolved short-wave and long-wave aerosol RF. Radiative forcing simulations in the LW range have shown an important sensitivity to the following parameters: aerosol load, radius of the coarse mode, refractive index, aerosol vertical distribution, surface temperature and surface albedo. The scattering effect has been estimated to contribute to the LW RF up to 18% at the surface and up to 38% at the top of the atmosphere. The second objective is the estimation of the short-wave and long-wave dust RF for 11 dust outbreaks observed in Barcelona. At the surface, the LW RF varies between +2.8 and +10.2 W m−2, which represents between 11 and 26% (with opposite sign) of the SW component, while at the top of the atmosphere the LW RF varies between +0.6 and +5.8 W m−2, which represents between 6 and 26% (with opposite sign) of the SW component.

Estimation of Surface and Top-of-Atmosphere Shortwave Irradiance in Biomass-Burning Regions during SCAR-B

2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1742-1753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundar A. Christopher ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Ronald M. Welch ◽  
Jeffrey S. Reid ◽  
Peter V. Hobbs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Wavelength Dependence ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Aerosol Radiative Forcing ◽  
Mean Square Errors

Abstract Using in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties and ground-based measurements of aerosol optical thickness (τs) during the Smoke, Clouds and Radiation—Brazil (SCAR-B) experiment, a four-stream broadband radiative transfer model is used to estimate the downward shortwave irradiance (DSWI) and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) shortwave aerosol radiative forcing (SWARF) in cloud-free regions dominated by smoke from biomass burning in Brazil. The calculated DSWI values are compared with broadband pyranometer measurements made at the surface. The results show that, for two days when near-coincident measurements of single-scattering albedo ω0 and τs are available, the root-mean-square errors between the measured and calculated DSWI for daytime data are within 30 W m−2. For five days during SCAR-B, however, when assumptions about ω0 have to be made and also when τs was significantly higher, the differences can be as large as 100 W m−2. At TOA, the SWARF per unit optical thickness ranges from −20 to −60 W m−2 over four major ecosystems in South America. The results show that τs and ω0 are the two most important parameters that affect DSWI calculations. For SWARF values, surface albedos also play an important role. It is shown that ω0 must be known within 0.05 and τs at 0.55 μm must be known to within 0.1 to estimate DSWI to within 20 W m−2. The methodology described in this paper could serve as a potential strategy for determining DSWI values in the presence of aerosols. The wavelength dependence of τs and ω0 over the entire shortwave spectrum is needed to improve radiative transfer calculations. If global retrievals of DSWI and SWARF from satellite measurements are to be performed in the presence of biomass-burning aerosols on a routine basis, a concerted effort should be made to develop methodologies for estimating ω0 and τs from satellite and ground-based measurements.

scholarly journals 2-D mineral dust radiative forcing calculations from CALIPSO observations over Europe

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria José Granados-Muñoz ◽  
Michaël Sicard ◽  
Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos ◽  
Rubén Barragán ◽  
Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Radiant Energy ◽  
Radiative Properties ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Orthogonal Polarization ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Radiative Effects

Abstract. A demonstration study to examine the feasibility to retrieve dust radiative effects based on combined satellite data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) li-dar vertical profiles along their orbit is presented. The radiative transfer model GAME (Global Atmos-pheric Model) is used to estimate the shortwave and longwave dust radiative effects below the CALIP-SO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite) orbit assuming an aerosol parameterization based on CALIOP vertical distribution at a horizontal resolution of 5 km and additional AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) data. Two study cases are analysed; a strong long-range transport mineral dust event (AOD = 0.52) originated in the Sahara Desert and reaching the United Kingdom and a weaker event (AOD = 0.16) affecting Eastern Europe. The obtained radiative fluxes are first validated in terms of radiative forcing efficiency at a single point with space-time co-located lidar ground-based measurements from EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) stations below the orbit. The methodology is then applied to the full orbit. The obtained results indicate that the radiative effects show a strong dependence on the aerosol load, highlighting the need of accurate AOD measurements for forcing studies, and on the surface albedo. The calculated dust radiative effects and heating rates below the orbits are in good agreement with previous studies of mineral dust, with the forcing efficiency obtained at the surface ranging between −80.3 and −63.0 W m−2 for the weaker event and −119.1 and −79.3 W m−2 for the strong one. Results thus demonstrate the validity of the presented method to retrieve 2-D accurate radiative properties with large spatial and temporal coverage.

scholarly journals Aerosol radiative forcing during African desert dust events (2005–2010) over South-Eastern Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 6593-6622 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Valenzuela ◽  
F. J. Olmo ◽  
H. Lyamani ◽  
M. Antón ◽  
A. Quirantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Aerosol Radiative Forcing ◽  
Desert Dust ◽  
Aerosol Parameter ◽  
Dust Events ◽  
Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The instantaneous values of the aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA) were calculated during desert dust events occurred at Granada (Southeastern Spain) from 2005 to 2010. For that, the SBDART radiative transfer model was utilized to simulate the global irradiance values (0.3–2.8 μm) at the surface and TOA using as input the aerosol properties derived from a CIMEL sun-photometer measurements and an inversion methodology that uses the sky radiance measurements in principal plane configuration and non-spherical particle shapes approximation. The SBDART modeled global irradiances at surface have been successfully validated against experimental measurements obtained by CM-11 pyranometer, indicating the reliability of the radiative transfer model used in this work for the ARF calculations. The monthly ARF values at surface ranged from −32 W m−2 to −46 W m−2, being larger in April and July than in the rest of months. The seasonal ARF evolution was inconsistent with seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD) variation due to the effects induced by other aerosol parameter such as the single scattering albedo. The ARF at TOA changed from −9 W m−2 to −29 W m−2. Thus, the atmospheric ARF values (ARF at TOA minus ARF at surface) ranged from +15 to +35 W m−2. These results suggest that the African dust caused local atmospheric heating over the study location. The instantaneous aerosol radiative forcing efficiency (ARFE), aerosol radiative forcing per unit of AOD (440 nm), at surface and TOA during African desert dust events was evaluated according to the desert dust source origins. The ARFE values at surface were relatively high (in absolute term) and were −157 ± 20 (Sector A), −154 ± 23 (Sector B), and −147 ± 23 (Sector C) W m−2. These values were larger than many of the values found in literature which could be due to the presence of more absorbing atmospheric particles during African desert dust intrusions over our study area. Finally, our ARF computations showed good agreement with the corresponding ARF calculated by AERONET network.

scholarly journals Single Scattering Albedo’s Spectral Dependence Effect on UV Irradiance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Extinction Ratio ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Single Scattering Albedo ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Visible Range ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Uv Irradiance ◽  
Visible Wavelengths ◽  
Relative Differences

The Absorbing/scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and this absorption to total extinction ratio is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA). Effect of SSA in the Ultraviolet (UV) irradiance is less studied and limited measurements are available. SSA retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009-2014 from Ultraviolet Multifilter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, were used to calculate incoming UV irradiance, alongside with ones from AERONET at visible wavelengths, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and from AEROCOM climatological database at 300 nm. UVA and UVB irradiances were estimated using a Radiative Transfer Model and we found that relative differences could be as high as 20%, while average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7 % for the whole experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth compared to ones estimated using SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324nm were used to validate simulated irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%, while when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91 and +4.15% accordingly.

scholarly journals Brown carbon aerosol in the North American continental troposphere: sources, abundance, and radiative forcing

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 5959-6007 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
E. Scheuer ◽  
J. Dibb ◽  
G. S. Diskin ◽  
L. D. Ziemba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
North American ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Measurement Range ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Brown Carbon ◽  
The North

Abstract. Chemical components of organic aerosol selectively absorb light at short wavelengths. In this study, the prevalence, sources, and optical importance of this so-called brown carbon (BrC) aerosol component are investigated throughout the North American continental tropospheric column during a summer of extensive biomass burning. Spectrophotometric absorption measurements on extracts of bulk aerosol samples collected from an aircraft over the central USA were analyzed to directly quantify BrC abundance. BrC was found to be prevalent throughout the 1 to 12 km altitude measurement range, with dramatic enhancements in biomass burning plumes. BrC to black carbon (BC) ratios, under background tropospheric conditions, increased with altitude, consistent with a corresponding increase in the Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) determined from a 3-wavelength Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP). The sum of inferred BC absorption and measured BrC absorption at 365 nm was within 3% of the measured PSAP absorption for background conditions and 22% for biomass burning. A radiative transfer model showed that BrC absorption reduced top of atmosphere aerosol forcing by ~20% in the background troposphere. Extensive radiative model simulations applying this studies background tropospheric conditions provided a look-up chart for determining radiative forcing efficiencies of BrC as a function of surface-measured BrC–BC ratio and single scattering albedo (SSA). The chart is a first attempt to provide a tool for better assessment of brown carbon's forcing effect when one is limited to only surface data. These results indicate that BrC is an important component of direct aerosol radiative forcing.

scholarly journals Satellite-based estimate of aerosol direct radiative effect over the South-East Atlantic

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 23295-23324 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Costantino ◽  
F.-M. Bréon
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Cloud Fraction ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
The South ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Cloud Parameters ◽  
Horizontal And Vertical Distributions

Abstract. The net effect of aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing (DRF) is the balance between the scattering effect that reflects solar radiation back to space (cooling), and the absorption that decreases the reflected sunlight (warming). The amplitude of these two effects and their balance depends on the aerosol load, its absorptivity, the cloud fraction and the respective position of aerosol and cloud layers. In this study, we use the information provided by CALIOP (CALIPSO satellite) and MODIS (AQUA satellite) instruments as input data to a Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM) and quantify the shortwave (SW) aerosol direct atmospheric forcing, over the South-East Atlantic. The combination of the passive and active measurements allows estimates of the horizontal and vertical distributions of the aerosol and cloud parameters. We use a parametrization of the Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) based on the satellite-derived Angstrom coefficient. The South East Atlantic is a particular region, where bright stratocumulus clouds are often topped by absorbing smoke particles. Results from radiative transfer simulations confirm the similar amplitude of the cooling effect, due to light scattering by the aerosols, and the warming effect, due to the absorption by the same particles. Over six years of satellite retrievals, from 2005 to 2010, the South-East Atlantic all-sky SW DRF is −0.03 W m−2, with a spatial standard deviation of 8.03 W m−2. In good agreement with previous estimates, statistics show that a cloud fraction larger than 0.5 is generally associated with positive all-sky DRF. In case of cloudy-sky and aerosol located only above the cloud top, a SSA larger than 0.91 and cloud optical thickness larger than 4 can be considered as threshold values, beyond which the resulting radiative forcing becomes positive.

scholarly journals Single Scattering Albedo’s Spectral Dependence Effect on UV Irradiance

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Extinction Ratio ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Visible Range ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Uv Irradiance ◽  
Filter Radiometer ◽  
Relative Differences

The absorbing and scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA), which is defined as the absorption to total extinction ratio. There are limited measurements of SSA in the ultraviolet (UV) irradiance spectrum, hence, the influence of SSA on incoming UV irradiance has not been explored in great depth. In the present study, UV irradiance was calculated and compared using different SSA datasets retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009–2014; including SSA time series from Ultraviolet Multi-Filter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, SSA from AERONET at 440 nm, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and AeroCom climatological database at 300 nm. Irradiances were estimated using a radiative transfer model (RTM). Comparisons of these results revealed that relative differences of UVA and UVB could be as high as 20%, whilst average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7% for the entire experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth in comparison to ones estimated with the use of SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324 nm were used to validate modeled monochromatic irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%. However, when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91% and +4.15% accordingly.

scholarly journals Fast Hyper-Spectral Radiative Transfer Model Based on the Double Cluster Low-Streams Regression Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 434
Author(s):  
Ana del Águila ◽  
Dmitry S. Efremenko
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Single Scattering ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Absorption Bands ◽  
Acceleration Techniques ◽  
Scattering Approximation ◽  
Fine Resolution ◽  
Single Scattering Approximation

Fast radiative transfer models (RTMs) are required to process a great amount of satellite-based atmospheric composition data. Specifically designed acceleration techniques can be incorporated in RTMs to simulate the reflected radiances with a fine spectral resolution, avoiding time-consuming computations on a fine resolution grid. In particular, in the cluster low-streams regression (CLSR) method, the computations on a fine resolution grid are performed by using the fast two-stream RTM, and then the spectra are corrected by using regression models between the two-stream and multi-stream RTMs. The performance enhancement due to such a scheme can be of about two orders of magnitude. In this paper, we consider a modification of the CLSR method (which is referred to as the double CLSR method), in which the single-scattering approximation is used for the computations on a fine resolution grid, while the two-stream spectra are computed by using the regression model between the two-stream RTM and the single-scattering approximation. Once the two-stream spectra are known, the CLSR method is applied the second time to restore the multi-stream spectra. Through a numerical analysis, it is shown that the double CLSR method yields an acceleration factor of about three orders of magnitude as compared to the reference multi-stream fine-resolution computations. The error of such an approach is below 0.05%. In addition, it is analysed how the CLSR method can be adopted for efficient computations for atmospheric scenarios containing aerosols. In particular, it is discussed how the precomputed data for clear sky conditions can be reused for computing the aerosol spectra in the framework of the CLSR method. The simulations are performed for the Hartley–Huggins, O2 A-, water vapour and CO2 weak absorption bands and five aerosol models from the optical properties of aerosols and clouds (OPAC) database.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document