Assessment of the radiative effects of aerosols in an on-line coupled model over the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract. The effects of atmospheric aerosol particles over the Earth's climate mainly depend on their optical, microphysical and chemical properties, which modify the Earth radiative budget. The aerosol radiative effects can be divided into direct and semi-direct effects, produced by the aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI); and indirect effects, produced by aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI). In this sense the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of aerosol radiative feedbacks in the on-line coupled WRF-Chem model improves the modelling outputs over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). For that purpose, the methodology bases on the evaluation of modelled aerosol optical properties under different simulation scenarios. The evaluated data come from two WRF-Chem simulations for the IP differing in the inclusion/no-inclusion of ARI and ACI (NRF/RF simulations). The case studies cover two episodes with different aerosol types over the IP in 2010, namely a Saharan desert dust outbreak and a forest fire episode. The evaluation uses observational data from AERONET stations and MODIS sensor, including aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Angström exponent (AE). Experimental data of aerosol vertical distribution from the EARLINET Granada station are used for checking the models. The results indicate that for the spatial distribution the best-represented variable is AOD and the largest improvements of including the radiative feedbacks are found for the vertical distribution. In the case of the dust outbreak, a slight improvement(worsening) is produced over the areas with medium(high/low) levels of AOD (−9 %/+12 % of improvement) when including the radiative feedbacks. For the wildfires episode, improvements of AOD representation (up to 11 %) over areas further away from emission sources are estimated, which compensates the computational effort of including aerosol feedbacks in the simulations. No evident improvement is observed for the AE representation, whose variability is largely underpredicted by both simulations.

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Evaluating the representation of aerosol optical properties using an online coupled model over the Iberian Peninsula

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-17-277-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 277-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Laura Palacios-Peña ◽

Rocío Baró ◽

Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado ◽

Lucas Alados-Arboledas ◽

Dominik Brunner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Vertical Distribution ◽

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Computational Effort ◽

Saharan Dust ◽

Aerosol Optical Properties ◽

Surrounding Water ◽

Radiative Feedbacks ◽

Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The effects of atmospheric aerosol particles on the Earth's climate mainly depend on their optical, microphysical and chemical properties, which modify the Earth's radiative budget. The aerosol radiative effects can be divided into direct and semi-direct effects, produced by the aerosol–radiation interactions (ARIs), and indirect effects, produced by aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs). In this sense the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of aerosol radiative feedbacks in the online coupled WRF-Chem model improves the modelling outputs over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) and surrounding water areas. For this purpose, the methodology is based on the evaluation of modelled aerosol optical properties under different simulation scenarios. The evaluated data come from two WRF-Chem simulations for the IP differing in the inclusion/no-inclusion of ARIs and ACIs (RF/NRF simulations). The case studies cover two episodes with different aerosol types over the IP in 2010, namely a Saharan dust outbreak and a forest fire episode. The evaluation uses observational data from AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) stations and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor, including aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Ångström exponent (AE). Experimental data of aerosol vertical distribution from the EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) Granada station are used for checking the models. The results indicate that for the spatial distribution the best-represented variable is AOD and the largest improvements when including the aerosol radiative feedbacks are found for the vertical distribution. In the case of the dust outbreak, a slight improvement (worsening) is produced over the areas with medium (high/low) levels of AOD(−9 % / +12 % of improvement) when including the aerosol radiative feedbacks. For the wildfire episode, improvements of AOD representation (up to 11 %) over areas further away from emission sources are estimated, which compensates for the computational effort of including aerosol feedbacks in the simulations. No clear improvement is observed for the AE representation, the variability of which is largely underpredicted by both simulations.

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Supplementary material to "Assessment of the radiative effects of aerosols in an on-line coupled model over the Iberian Peninsula"

10.5194/acp-2016-473-supplement ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Palacios-Peña ◽

Rocío Baró ◽

Juan L. Guerrero-Rascado ◽

Lucas Alados-Arboledas ◽

Dominik Brunner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Radiative Effects ◽

On Line ◽

Supplementary Material

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Regional effects of atmospheric aerosols on temperature: an evaluation of an ensemble of on-line coupled models

10.5194/acp-2016-1157 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rocío Baró ◽

Laura Palacios-Peña ◽

Alexander Baklanov ◽

Alessandra Balzarini ◽

Dominik Brunner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Coupled Models ◽

Climate Effect ◽

On Line ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Radiative Feedbacks ◽

Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The climate effect of atmospheric aerosols is associated to their influence on the radiative budget of the Earth due to direct aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI) and indirect effects, resulting from aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI). On-line coupled meteorology-chemistry models permit the description of these effects on the basis of simulated atmospheric aerosol concentrations, although there is still some uncertainty associated to the use of these models. In this sense, the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of atmospheric aerosol radiative feedbacks of an ensemble of on-line coupled models improves the simulation results for maximum, mean and minimum temperature over Europe. The evaluated model outputs originate from EuMetChem COST Action ES1004 simulations for Europe, differing in the inclusion (or omission) of ARI and ACI in the various models. The case studies cover two important atmospheric aerosol episodes over Europe in the year 2010, a heat wave and forest fires episode (July–August 2010) and a more humid episode including a Saharan desert dust outbreak in October 2010. The simulation results are evaluated against observational data from E-OBS gridded database. The results indicate that, although there is only a slight improvement in the bias of the simulation results when including the radiative feedbacks, the spatio-temporal variability and correlation coefficients are improved for the cases under study when atmospheric aerosol radiative effects are included, especially for those areas closest to emissions sources of atmospheric aerosols.

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Aerosol radiative effects in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral ranges using long-term aerosol data series over the Iberian Peninsula

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-14-8779-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 8779-8818 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Mateos ◽

M. Antón ◽

C. Toledano ◽

V. E. Cachorro ◽

L. Alados-Arboledas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Aerosol Optical Depth ◽

Optical Depth ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Radiative Properties ◽

Radiative Effects ◽

Spectral Ranges ◽

Aerosol Radiative Effects ◽

Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. A better understanding of the aerosol radiative properties is a crucial challenge for climate change studies. This study aims to provide a complete characterization of aerosol radiative effects in different spectral ranges within the shortwave (SW) solar spectrum. For this purpose, long-term datasets of aerosol properties from six AERONET stations located in the Iberian Peninsula (Southwestern Europe) are analyzed in term of climatology characterization and trends. Aerosol information is used as input to the libRadtran model in order to determine the aerosol radiative effect at the surface in the ultraviolet (AREUV), visible (AREVIS), near-infrared (ARENIR), and the entire SW range (ARESW) under cloud-free conditions. Over the whole Iberian Peninsula, aerosol radiative effects in the different spectral ranges are: −1.1 < AREUV < −0.7 W m−2, −5.7 < AREVIS < −3.8 W m−2, −2.8 < ARENIR < −1.7 W m−2, and −9.5 < ARESW < −6.1 W m−2. The four variables showed positive statistically significant trends between 2004 and 2012, e.g., ARESW increased +3.6 W m−2 per decade. This fact is linked to the decrease in the aerosol load, which presents a trend of −0.04 per unit of aerosol optical depth at 500 nm per decade, hence a reduction of aerosol effect on solar radiation at the surface is seen. Monthly means of ARE show a seasonal pattern with larger values in spring and summer. The aerosol forcing efficiency (AFE), ARE per unit of aerosol optical depth, is also evaluated in the four spectral ranges. AFE exhibits a dependence on single scattering albedo and a weaker one on Ångström exponent. AFE is larger (in absolute value) for small and absorbing particles. The contributions of the UV, VIS, and NIR ranges to the SW efficiency vary with the aerosol types. Aerosol size determines the fractions of AFEVIS/AFESW and AFENIR/AFESW. VIS range is the dominant region for all types, although non-absorbing large particles cause a more equal contribution of VIS and NIR intervals. The AFEUV / AFESW ratio shows a higher contribution for absorbing fine particles.

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Aerosol radiative effects during two desert dust events in August 2012 over the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula

Atmospheric Research ◽

10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.10.007 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 153 ◽

pp. 404-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

M.A. Obregón ◽

S. Pereira ◽

V. Salgueiro ◽

M.J. Costa ◽

A.M. Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Radiative Effects ◽

Desert Dust ◽

Dust Events ◽

Aerosol Radiative Effects ◽

Aerosol Radiative

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Aerosol radiative effects in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral ranges using long-term aerosol data series over the Iberian Peninsula

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-14-13497-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (24) ◽

pp. 13497-13514 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

D. Mateos ◽

M. Antón ◽

C. Toledano ◽

V. E. Cachorro ◽

L. Alados-Arboledas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Radiative Properties ◽

Radiative Effects ◽

Spectral Ranges ◽

Aerosol Radiative Effects ◽

Aerosol Types ◽

Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. A better understanding of aerosol radiative properties is a crucial challenge for climate change studies. This study aims at providing a complete characterization of aerosol radiative effects in different spectral ranges within the shortwave (SW) solar spectrum. For this purpose, long-term data sets of aerosol properties from six AERONET stations located in the Iberian Peninsula (southwestern Europe) have been analyzed in terms of climatological characterization and inter-annual changes. Aerosol information was used as input for the libRadtran model in order to determine the aerosol radiative effect (ARE) at the surface in the ultraviolet (AREUV), visible (AREVIS), near-infrared (ARENIR), and the entire SW range (ARESW) under cloud-free conditions. Over the whole Iberian Peninsula, yearly aerosol radiative effects in the different spectral ranges were found to be −1.1 < AREUV < −0.7, −5.7 < AREVIS < −3.5, −2.6 < ARENIR < −1.6, and −8.8 < ARESW < −5.7 (in W m−2). Monthly means of ARE showed a seasonal pattern with larger values in spring and summer. The aerosol forcing efficiency (AFE), ARE per unit of aerosol optical depth, has also been evaluated in the four spectral ranges. AFE exhibited a dependence on single scattering albedo as well as a weaker one on the Ångström exponent. AFE is larger (in absolute value) for small and absorbing particles. The contributions of the UV, VIS, and NIR ranges to the SW efficiency varied with the aerosol types. The predominant aerosol size determined the fractions AFEVIS/AFESW and AFENIR/AFESW. The AFEVIS was the dominant contributor for all aerosol types, although non-absorbing large particles caused more even contribution of VIS and NIR intervals. The AFEUV / AFESW ratio showed a higher value in the case of absorbing fine particles.

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Impact of air–sea coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula

Climate Dynamics ◽

10.1007/s00382-021-05812-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alba de la Vara ◽

William Cabos ◽

Dmitry V. Sein ◽

Claas Teichmann ◽

Daniela Jacob

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Large Scale ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Climate Change Signal ◽

The North ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn this work we use a regional atmosphere–ocean coupled model (RAOCM) and its stand-alone atmospheric component to gain insight into the impact of atmosphere–ocean coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). The IP climate is influenced by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. Complex interactions with the orography take place there and high-resolution models are required to realistically reproduce its current and future climate. We find that under the RCP8.5 scenario, the generalized 2-m air temperature (T2M) increase by the end of the twenty-first century (2070–2099) in the atmospheric-only simulation is tempered by the coupling. The impact of coupling is specially seen in summer, when the warming is stronger. Precipitation shows regionally-dependent changes in winter, whilst a drier climate is found in summer. The coupling generally reduces the magnitude of the changes. Differences in T2M and precipitation between the coupled and uncoupled simulations are caused by changes in the Atlantic large-scale circulation and in the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, the differences in projected changes of T2M and precipitation with the RAOCM under the RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios are tackled. Results show that in winter and summer T2M increases less and precipitation changes are of a smaller magnitude with the RCP4.5. Whilst in summer changes present a similar regional distribution in both runs, in winter there are some differences in the NW of the IP due to differences in the North Atlantic circulation. The differences in the climate change signal from the RAOCM and the driving Global Coupled Model show that regionalization has an effect in terms of higher resolution over the land and ocean.

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Vertical distribution of phosphorus concentrations, phosphatase activity and further soil chemical properties in salt-affected Mollic Gleysols in Poland

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-015-4294-x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

pp. 2719-2728 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Joanna Lemanowicz ◽

Magdalena Krzyżaniak

Keyword(s):

Vertical Distribution ◽

Phosphatase Activity ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Soil Chemical Properties

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Regional effects of atmospheric aerosols on temperature: an evaluation of an ensemble of online coupled models

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-17-9677-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (15) ◽

pp. 9677-9696 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Rocío Baró ◽

Laura Palacios-Peña ◽

Alexander Baklanov ◽

Alessandra Balzarini ◽

Dominik Brunner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Coupled Models ◽

Climate Effect ◽

Wave Event ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Radiative Feedbacks ◽

Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The climate effect of atmospheric aerosols is associated with their influence on the radiative budget of the Earth due to the direct aerosol–radiation interactions (ARIs) and indirect effects, resulting from aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions (ACIs). Online coupled meteorology–chemistry models permit the description of these effects on the basis of simulated atmospheric aerosol concentrations, although there is still some uncertainty associated with the use of these models. Thus, the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of atmospheric aerosol radiative feedbacks of an ensemble of online coupled models improves the simulation results for maximum, mean and minimum temperature at 2 m over Europe. The evaluated models outputs originate from EuMetChem COST Action ES1004 simulations for Europe, differing in the inclusion (or omission) of ARI and ACI in the various models. The cases studies cover two important atmospheric aerosol episodes over Europe in the year 2010: (i) a heat wave event and a forest fire episode (July–August 2010) and (ii) a more humid episode including a Saharan desert dust outbreak in October 2010. The simulation results are evaluated against observational data from the E-OBS gridded database. The results indicate that, although there is only a slight improvement in the bias of the simulation results when including the radiative feedbacks, the spatiotemporal variability and correlation coefficients are improved for the cases under study when atmospheric aerosol radiative effects are included.

Download Full-text