scholarly journals Analysis of the decrease in the tropical mean outgoing shortwave radiation at the top of atmosphere for the period 1984-2000

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1721-1730 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fotiadi ◽  
N. Hatzianastassiou ◽  
C. Matsoukas ◽  
K. G. Pavlakis ◽  
E. Drakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Energy ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Decadal Scale

Abstract. A decadal-scale trend in the tropical radiative energy budget has been observed recently by satellites, which however is not reproduced by climate models. In the present study, we have computed the outgoing shortwave radiation (OSR) at the top of atmosphere (TOA) at 2.5° longitude-latitude resolution and on a mean monthly basis for the 17-year period 1984-2000, by using a deterministic solar radiative transfer model and cloud climatological data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) D2 database. Anomaly time series for the mean monthly pixel-level OSR fluxes, as well as for the key physical parameters, were constructed. A significant decreasing trend in OSR anomalies, starting mainly from the late 1980s, was found in tropical and subtropical regions (30° S-30° N), indicating a decadal increase in solar planetary heating equal to 1.9±0.3Wm-2/decade, reproducing well the features recorded by satellite observations, in contrast to climate model results. This increase in solar planetary heating, however, is accompanied by a similar increase in planetary cooling, due to increased outgoing longwave radiation, so that there is no change in net radiation. The model computed OSR trend is in good agreement with the corresponding linear decadal decrease of 2.5±0.4Wm-2/decade in tropical mean OSR anomalies derived from ERBE S-10N non-scanner data (edition 2). An attempt was made to identify the physical processes responsible for the decreasing trend in tropical mean OSR. A detailed correlation analysis using pixel-level anomalies of model computed OSR flux and ISCCP cloud cover over the entire tropical and subtropical region (30° S-30° N), gave a correlation coefficient of 0.79, indicating that decreasing cloud cover is the main reason for the tropical OSR trend. According to the ISCCP-D2 data derived from the combined visible/infrared (VIS/IR) analysis, the tropical cloud cover has decreased by 6.6±0.2% per decade, in relative terms. A detailed analysis of the inter-annual and long-term variability of the various parameters determining the OSR at TOA, has shown that the most important contribution to the observed OSR trend comes from a decrease in low-level cloud cover over the period 1984-2000, followed by decreases in middle and high-level cloud cover. Note, however, that there still remain some uncertainties associated with the existence and magnitude of trends in ISCCP-D2 cloud amounts. Opposite but small trends are introduced by increases in cloud scattering optical depth of low and middle clouds.

scholarly journals Analysis of the decrease in the tropical mean outgoing shortwave radiation at the top of atmosphere for the period 1984-2000

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 455-480
Author(s):  
A. Fotiadi ◽  
N. Hatzianastassiou ◽  
C. Matsoukas ◽  
K. G. Pavlakis ◽  
E. Drakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Energy ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Decadal Scale

Abstract. A decadal-scale trend in the tropical radiative energy budget has been observed recently by satellites, which however is not reproduced by climate models. In the present study, we have computed the outgoing shortwave radiation (OSR) at the top of atmosphere (TOA) at 2.5° longitude-latitude resolution and on a mean monthly basis for the 17-year period 1984–2000, by using a deterministic solar radiative transfer model and cloud climatological data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) D2 database. Atmospheric temperature and humidity vertical profiles, as well as other supplementary data, were taken from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction – National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Global Reanalysis Projects, while other global databases, such as the Global Aerosol Data Set (GADS) for aerosol data, were also used. Anomaly time series for the mean monthly pixel-level OSR fluxes, as well as for the key physical parameters, were constructed. A significant decreasing trend in OSR anomalies, starting mainly from the late 1980s, was found in tropical and subtropical regions (30° S–30° N), indicating an increase in solar planetary heating equal to 3.2±0.5 Wm-2 over the 17-year time period from 1984 to 2000 or 1.9±0.3 Wm-2/decade, reproducing well the features recorded by satellite observations, in contrast to climate model results. The model computed trend is in good agreement with the corresponding linear decrease of 3.7±0.5 Wm-2 (or 2.5±0.4 Wm-2/decade) in tropical mean OSR anomalies derived from ERBE S-10N non-scanner data. An attempt was made to identify the physical processes responsible for the decreasing trend in tropical mean OSR. A detailed correlation analysis using pixel-level anomalies of OSR flux and ISCCP cloud cover over the entire tropical and subtropical region (30° S–30° N), gave a correlation coefficient of 0.79, indicating that decreasing cloud cover is the main reason for the tropical OSR trend. According to the ISCCP-D2 data derived from the combined visible/infrared (VIS/IR) analysis, the tropical cloud cover has decreased by 6.6±0.2% per decade, in relative terms. A detailed analysis of the inter-annual and long-term variability of the various parameters determining the OSR at TOA, has shown that the most important contribution to the observed OSR trend comes from a decrease in low-level cloud cover over the period 1984–2000, followed by decreases in middle and high-level cloud cover. Opposite but small trends are introduced by increases in cloud scattering optical depth of low and middle clouds.

Evaluation of shortwave radiation fluxes in the multi-layer SPARTACUS-Urban scheme using DART

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Stretton ◽  
William Morrison ◽  
Robin Hogan ◽  
Sue Grimmond
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Urban Structure

<p>The heterogenous structure of cities impacts radiative exchanges (e.g. albedo and heat storage). Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models often characterise the urban structure with an infinite street canyon – but this does not capture the three-dimensional urban form. SPARTACUS-Urban (SU) - a fast, multi-layer radiative transfer model designed for NWP - is evaluated using the explicit Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) model for shortwave fluxes across several model domains – from a regular array of cubes to real cities .</p><p>SU agrees with DART (errors < 5.5% for all variables) when the SU assumptions of building distribution are fulfilled (e.g. randomly distribution). For real-world areas with pitched roofs, SU underestimates the albedo (< 10%) and shortwave transmission to the surface (< 15%), and overestimates wall-plus-roof absorption (9-27%), with errors increasing with solar zenith angle. SU should be beneficial to weather and climate models, as it allows more realistic urban form (cf. most schemes) without large increases in computational cost.</p>

Could the cloud cover in future climate models be improved by incorporating the role of sea spray in surface heat fluxes?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajuan Song ◽  
Fangli Qiao ◽  
Qi Shu ◽  
Jiping Liu ◽  
Ying Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latent Heat ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Sea Spray ◽  
Low Level

<p>Accurate cloud cover and radiative effect simulation remains a long-standing challenge for global climate models (GCMs). The Southern Ocean (SO) cloud cover is substantially underestimated by most GCMs. Therefore, too much shortwave radiation is absorbed by oceans, which causes an overly warm sea surface temperature (SST) bias over the SO. For the first time, sea spray effects on latent and sensible heat fluxes are considered in a climate model. The most notable sea spray impacts on heat fluxes occur over the SO, with anomalous latent heat fluxes up to -7.74 W m<sup>-2</sup>. Enhanced latent heat release lead to SST cooling. In addition, more clouds are formed over the SO to reflect excessive downward shortwave radiation, especially low-level clouds at 1.51% increments. Our results provide a feasible solution to mitigate the lack of low-level clouds and overly warm SST biases over the SO in GCMs.</p>

scholarly journals A module to convert spectral to narrowband snow albedo for use in climate models: SNOWBAL v1.0

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiaan T. van Dalum ◽  
Willem Jan van de Berg ◽  
Quentin Libois ◽  
Ghislain Picard ◽  
Michiel R. van den Broeke
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Atmospheric Model ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Snow Albedo ◽  
Radiation Scheme

Abstract. Snow albedo schemes in regional climate models often lack a sophisticated radiation penetration scheme and generally compute only a broadband albedo. Here, we present the Spectral-to-NarrOWBand ALbedo module (SNOWBAL, version 1.0) to couple effectively a spectral albedo model with a narrowband radiation scheme. Specifically, the Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow model (TARTES) is coupled with the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecast System atmospheric radiation scheme based on the rapid radiation transfer model, which is embedded in the regional climate model RACMO2. This coupling allows to explicitly account for the effect of clouds, snow impurities and snow metamorphism on albedo. Firstly, we present a narrowband albedo method to project the spectral albedos of TARTES onto the 14 spectral bands of the ECMWF shortwave radiation scheme using a representative wavelength (RW) for each band. Using TARTES and spectral downwelling surface irradiance derived with the DIScrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer atmospheric model, we show that RWs primarily depend on the solar zenith angle (SZA) and cloud content. Secondly, we compare the TARTES narrowband albedo, using offline RACMO2 results for South Greenland, with the broadband albedo parameterizations of Gardner and Sharp (2010), currently implemented in RACMO2, and the multi-layered parameterization of Kuipers Munneke et al. (2011, PKM). The actual absence of radiation penetration in RACMO2 leads on average to a higher albedo compared with TARTES narrowband albedo. Furthermore, large differences between the TARTES narrowband albedo and PKM and RACMO2 are observed for high SZA and clear-sky conditions, and after melt events when the snowpack is very inhomogeneous. This highlights the importance of accounting for spectral albedo and radiation penetration to simulate the energy budget of the Greenland ice sheet.

scholarly journals Global distribution of Earth's surface shortwave radiation budget

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 2847-2867 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Hatzianastassiou ◽  
C. Matsoukas ◽  
A. Fotiadi ◽  
K. G. Pavlakis ◽  
E. Drakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Global Mean

Abstract. The monthly mean shortwave (SW) radiation budget at the Earth's surface (SRB) was computed on 2.5-degree longitude-latitude resolution for the 17-year period from 1984 to 2000, using a radiative transfer model accounting for the key physical parameters that determine the surface SRB, and long-term climatological data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP-D2). The model input data were supplemented by data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction - National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) and European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Global Reanalysis projects, and other global data bases such as TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and Global Aerosol Data Set (GADS). The model surface radiative fluxes were validated against surface measurements from 22 stations of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) covering the years 1992-2000, and from 700 stations of the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA), covering the period 1984-2000. The model is in good agreement with BSRN and GEBA, with a negative bias of 14 and 6.5 Wm-2, respectively. The model is able to reproduce interesting features of the seasonal and geographical variation of the surface SW fluxes at global scale. Based on the 17-year average model results, the global mean SW downward surface radiation (DSR) is equal to 171.6 Wm-2, whereas the net downward (or absorbed) surface SW radiation is equal to 149.4 Wm-2, values that correspond to 50.2 and 43.7% of the incoming SW radiation at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. These values involve a long-term surface albedo equal to 12.9%. Significant increasing trends in DSR and net DSR fluxes were found, equal to 4.1 and 3.7 Wm-2, respectively, over the 1984-2000 period (equivalent to 2.4 and 2.2 Wm-2 per decade), indicating an increasing surface solar radiative heating. This surface SW radiative heating is primarily attributed to clouds, especially low-level, and secondarily to other parameters such as total precipitable water. The surface solar heating occurs mainly in the period starting from the early 1990s, in contrast to decreasing trend in DSR through the late 1980s. The computed global mean DSR and net DSR flux anomalies were found to range within ±8 and ±6 Wm-2, respectively, with signals from El Niño and La Niña events, and the Pinatubo eruption, whereas significant positive anomalies have occurred in the period 1992-2000.

scholarly journals A module to convert spectral to narrowband snow albedo for use in climate models: SNOWBAL v1.2

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5157-5175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiaan T. van Dalum ◽  
Willem Jan van de Berg ◽  
Quentin Libois ◽  
Ghislain Picard ◽  
Michiel R. van den Broeke
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Snow Albedo ◽  
Radiation Scheme

Abstract. Snow albedo schemes in regional climate models often lack a sophisticated radiation penetration scheme and generally compute only a broadband albedo. Here, we present the Spectral-to-NarrOWBand ALbedo module (SNOWBAL, version 1.2) to couple effectively a spectral albedo model with a narrowband radiation scheme. Specifically, the Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow model (TARTES) is coupled with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecast System (IFS), cycle 33R1, atmospheric radiation scheme based on the Rapid Radiation Transfer Model, which is embedded in the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model version 2.3p2 (RACMO2). This coupling allows to explicitly account for the effect of clouds, water vapor, snow impurities and snow metamorphism on albedo. Firstly, we present a narrowband albedo method to project the spectral albedos of TARTES onto the 14 spectral bands of the IFS shortwave radiation scheme using a representative wavelength (RW) for each band. Using TARTES and spectral downwelling surface irradiance derived with the DIScrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer atmospheric model, we show that RWs primarily depend on the solar zenith angle (SZA), cloud content and water vapor. Secondly, we compare the TARTES narrowband albedo, using offline RACMO2 results for south Greenland, with the broadband albedo parameterizations of Gardner and Sharp (2010), currently implemented in RACMO2, and the multi-layered parameterization of Kuipers Munneke et al. (2011, PKM). The actual absence of radiation penetration in RACMO2 leads on average to a higher albedo compared with TARTES narrowband albedo. Furthermore, large differences between the TARTES narrowband albedo and PKM and RACMO2 are observed for high SZA and clear-sky conditions, and after melt events when the snowpack is very inhomogeneous. This highlights the importance of accounting for spectral albedo and radiation penetration to simulate the energy budget of the Greenland ice sheet.

scholarly journals Simulation of Thermodynamic Features of a Thunderstorm Event over Dhaka using WRF-ARW Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 131-145
Author(s):  
Md Mijanur Rahman ◽  
Md Abdus Samad ◽  
SM Quamrul Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Convective Available Potential Energy ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Cumulus Parameterization ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model

An attempt has been made to simulate the thermodynamic features of the thunderstorm (TS) event over Dhaka (23.81°N, 90.41°E) occurred from 1300 UTC to 1320 UTC of 4 April 2015 using Advanced Research dynamics solver of Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF-ARW). The model was run to conduct a simulation for 48 hours on a single domain of 5 km horizontal resolution utilizing six hourly Global Final Analysis (FNL) datasets from 0600 UTC of 3 April 2015 to 0600 UTC of 5 April 2015 as initial and lateral boundary conditions. Kessler schemes for microphysics, Yonsei University (YSU) scheme for planetary boundary layer (PBL) parametrization, Revised MM5 scheme for surface layer physics, Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM) for longwave radiation, Dudhia scheme for shortwave radiation and Kain–Fritsch (KF) scheme for cumulus parameterization were used. Hourly outputs produced by the model have been analyzed numerically and graphically using Grid Analysis and Display System (GrADS). Deep analyses were carried out by examining several thermodynamic parameters such as mean sea level pressure (MSLP), wind pattern, vertical wind shear, vorticity, temperature, convective available potential energy (CAPE), relative humidity (RH) and rainfall. To validate the model performance, simulated values of MSLP, maximum and minimum temperature and RH were compared with observational data obtained from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). Rainfall values were compared with that of BMD and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Based on the comparisons and validations, the present study advocates that the model captured the TS event reasonably well.GANIT J. Bangladesh Math. Soc.Vol. 37 (2017) 131-145

scholarly journals Global Radiative Flux and Cloudiness Variability for the Period 1959–2010 in Belgium: A Comparison between Reanalyses and the Regional Climate Model MAR

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coraline Wyard ◽  
Sébastien Doutreloup ◽  
Alexandre Belleflamme ◽  
Martin Wild ◽  
Xavier Fettweis
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Radiative Flux ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
The Mean

The use of regional climate models (RCMs) can partly reduce the biases in global radiative flux (Eg↓) that are found in reanalysis products and global models, as they allow for a finer spatial resolution and a finer parametrisation of surface and atmospheric processes. In this study, we assess the ability of the MAR («Modèle Atmosphérique Régional») RCM to reproduce observed changes in Eg↓, and we investigate the added value of MAR with respect to reanalyses. Simulations were performed at a horizontal resolution of 5 km for the period 1959–2010 by forcing MAR with different reanalysis products: ERA40/ERA-interim, NCEP/NCAR-v1, ERA-20C, and 20CRV2C. Measurements of Eg↓ from the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) and from the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMIB), as well as cloud cover observations from Belgocontrol and RMIB, were used for the evaluation of the MAR model and the forcing reanalyses. Results show that MAR enables largely reducing the mean biases that are present in the reanalyses. The trend analysis shows that only MAR forced by ERA40/ERA-interim shows historical trends, which is probably because the ERA40/ERA-interim has a better horizontal resolution and assimilates more observations than the other reanalyses that are used in this study. The results suggest that the solar brightening observed since the 1980s in Belgium has mainly been due to decreasing cloud cover.

scholarly journals Variations of the snow physical parameters and their effects on albedo in Sapporo, Japan

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 375-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruo Aoki ◽  
Hiroki Motoyoshi ◽  
Yuji Kodama ◽  
Teppei J. Yasunari ◽  
Konosuke Sugiura
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Infrared Wavelengths ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Impurity Models

AbstractContinuous measurements of the radiation budget and meteorological components, along with frequent snow-pit work, were performed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, during two winters from 2003 to 2005. The measured relationships between broadband albedos and the mass concentration of snow impurities were compared with theoretically predicted relationships calculated using a radiative transfer model for the atmosphere–snow system in which different types (in light absorption) of impurity models based on mineral dust and soot were assumed. The result suggests that the snow in Sapporo was contaminated not only with mineral dust but also with more absorptive soot. A comparison of the measured relationships between broadband albedos and snow grain size for two different layers with the theoretically predicted relationships revealed that the visible albedo contains information about the snow grain size in deeper snow layers (10 cm), and the near-infrared albedo contains only surface information. This is due to the difference in penetration depth of solar radiation into snow between the visible and the near-infrared wavelengths.

scholarly journals Description of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station at the Izaña Observatory (2009–2017): measurements and quality control/assurance procedures

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Delia García ◽  
Emilio Cuevas ◽  
Ramón Ramos ◽  
Victoria Eugenia Cachorro ◽  
Alberto Redondas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Total Column Ozone ◽  
The World ◽  
Instantaneous Values

Abstract. The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) was implemented by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) starting observations with nine stations in 1992, under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Currently, 59 BSRN stations submit their data to the WCRP. One of these stations is the Izaña station (station IZA, no. 61) that enrolled in this network in 2009. This is a high-mountain station located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain, at 28.3∘ N, 16.5∘ W; 2373 m a.s.l.) and is a representative site of the subtropical North Atlantic free troposphere. It contributes with basic-BSRN radiation measurements, such as global shortwave radiation (SWD), direct radiation (DIR), diffuse radiation (DIF) and longwave downward radiation (LWD), and extended-BSRN measurements, including ultraviolet ranges (UV-A and UV-B), shortwave upward radiation (SWU) and longwave upward radiation (LWU), and other ancillary measurements, such as vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind obtained from radiosonde profiles (WMO station no. 60018) and total column ozone from the Brewer spectrophotometer. The IZA measurements present high-quality standards since more than 98 % of the data are within the limits recommended by the BSRN. There is an excellent agreement in the comparison between SWD, DIR and DIF (instantaneous and daily) measurements with simulations obtained with the LibRadtran radiative transfer model. The root mean square error (RMSE) for SWD is 2.28 % for instantaneous values and 1.58 % for daily values, while the RMSE for DIR is 2.00 % for instantaneous values and 2.07 % for daily values. IZA is a unique station that provides very accurate solar radiation data in very contrasting scenarios: most of the time under pristine sky conditions and periodically under the effects of the Saharan air layer characterized by a high content of mineral dust. A detailed description of the BSRN program at IZA, including quality control and quality assurance activities, is given in this work.

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