scholarly journals Analysis on the impact of aerosol optical depth on surface solar radiation in the Shanghai megacity, China

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 627-652
Author(s):  
J. Xu ◽  
C. Li ◽  
H. Shi ◽  
Q. He ◽  
L. Pan
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Decadal Variation ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Atmospheric Transparency ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Term Variation ◽  
Sky Conditions

Abstract. This study investigated the decadal variation of the direct surface solar radiation (DiSR) and the diffuse surface solar radiation (DfSR) during 1961–2008 in the Shanghai megacity as well as their relationships to Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) under clear-sky conditions. Three successive periods with unique features of long term variation of DiSR were identified for both clear-sky and all-sky conditions: a "dimming" period from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, a "stabilization"/"slight brightening" period from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and a "renewed dimming" period thereafter. During the two dimming periods of DiSR, DfSR brightened significantly under clear-sky conditions, indicating that change in atmospheric transparency resulting from aerosol emission has an important role on decadal variation of surface solar radiation (SSR) over this area. The analysis on the relationship between the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieved AOD and the corresponding hourly measurements of DiSR and DfSR under clear-sky conditions clearly revealed that AOD is significantly correlated and anti-correlated with DfSR and DiSR, respectively, both above 99% confidence in all seasons, indicating the great impact of aerosols on SSR through absorption and/or scattering in the atmosphere. In addition, both AOD and the corresponding DiSR and DfSR measured during the satellite passage over Shanghai show obvious weekly cycles. On weekends, AOD is lower than the weekly average, corresponding to higher DiSR and lower DfSR, while the opposite pattern was true for weekdays. Less AOD on weekends due to the reduction of transportation and industrial activities results in enhancement of atmospheric transparency under cloud free conditions so as to increase DiSR and decrease DfSR simultaneously. Results show that aerosol loading from the anthropogenic emissions is an important modulator for the long term variation of SSR in Shanghai.

scholarly journals Analysis on the impact of aerosol optical depth on surface solar radiation in the Shanghai megacity, China

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3281-3289 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Xu ◽  
C. Li ◽  
H. Shi ◽  
Q. He ◽  
L. Pan
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Decadal Variation ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Atmospheric Transparency ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Term Variation ◽  
Sky Conditions

Abstract. This study investigated the decadal variation of the direct surface solar radiation (DiSR) and the diffuse surface solar radiation (DfSR) during 1961–2008 in the Shanghai megacity as well as their relationships to Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) under clear-sky conditions. Three successive periods with unique features of long term variation of DiSR were identified for both clear-sky and all-sky conditions: a "dimming" period from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, a "stabilization"/"slight brightening" period from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and a "renewed dimming" period thereafter. During the two dimming periods of DiSR, DfSR brightened significantly under clear-sky conditions, indicating that change in atmospheric transparency resulting from aerosol emission has an important role on decadal variation of surface solar radiation (SSR) over this area. The analysis on the relationship between the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieved AOD and the corresponding hourly measurements of DiSR and DfSR under clear-sky conditions clearly revealed that AOD is significantly correlated and anti-correlated with DfSR and DiSR, respectively, both above 99% confidence in all seasons, indicating the great impact of aerosols on SSR through absorption and/or scattering in the atmosphere. In addition, both AOD and the corresponding DiSR and DfSR measured during the satellite passage over Shanghai show obvious weekly cycles. On weekends, AOD is lower than the weekly average, corresponding to higher DiSR and lower DfSR, while the opposite pattern was true for weekdays. Less AOD on weekends due to the reduction of transportation and industrial activities results in enhancement of atmospheric transparency under cloud free conditions so as to increase DiSR and decrease DfSR simultaneously. Results show that aerosol loading from the anthropogenic emissions is an important modulator for the long term variation of SSR in Shanghai.

scholarly journals Causes of Dimming and Brightening in China Inferred from Homogenized Daily Clear-Sky and All-Sky in situ Surface Solar Radiation Records (1958–2016)

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (18) ◽  
pp. 5901-5913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Yang ◽  
Xiaolan L. Wang ◽  
Martin Wild
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Water Vapor Pressure ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sky Conditions

AbstractThis paper presents a study on long-term surface solar radiation (SSR) changes over China under clear- and all-sky conditions and analyzes the causes of the “dimming” and “brightening.” To eliminate the nonclimatic signals in the historical records, the daily SSR dataset was first homogenized using quantile-matching (QM) adjustment. The results reveal rapid dimming before 2000 not only under all-sky conditions, but also under clear-sky conditions, at a decline rate of −9.7 ± 0.4 W m−2 decade−1 (1958–99). This is slightly stronger than that under all-sky conditions at −7.4 ± 0.4 W m−2 decade−1, since the clear-sky dimming stopped 15 years later. A rapid “wettening” of about 40-Pa surface water vapor pressure (SWVP) from 1985 to 2000 was found over China. It contributed 2.2% to the SSR decline under clear-sky conditions during the whole dimming period (1958–99). Therefore, water vapor cannot be the main cause of the long-term dimming in China. After a stable decade (1999–2008), an intensive brightening appeared under the clear-sky conditions at a rate of 10.6 ± 2.0 W m−2 decade−1, whereas a much weaker brightening (−0.8 ± 3.1 W m−2 decade−1) has been observed under all-sky conditions between 2008 and 2016. The remarkable divergence between clear- and all-sky trends in recent decades indicates that the clouds played two opposite roles in the SSR changes during the past 30 years, by compensating for the declining SSR under the cloud-free conditions in 1985–99 and by counteracting the increasing SSR under cloud-free conditions in 2008–16. Aerosols remain as the main cause of dimming and brightening over China in the last 60 years, although the clouds counteract the effects of aerosols after 2000.

Terrestrial Solar Radiation

2017 ◽  
pp. 191-293
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Horizontal Plane ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Solar Tracking ◽  
Sky Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Estimation Models

After shading a light on the extraterrestrial solar radiation in the chapter 3 it is important to evaluate the global terrestrial solar radiation and its components. The information on terrestrial solar radiation is required in several different forms depending on the kinds of calculations and kind of application that are to be done. Of course, terrestrial solar radiation on the horizontal plane depends on the different weather conditions such as cloud cover, relative humidity, and ambient temperature. Therefore, the impact of the atmosphere on solar radiation should be considered. One of the most important points of terrestrial solar radiation evaluation is its determination during clear sky conditions. Therefore, in this chapter, the equations that determine the air mass basing on available theories are given and the clear sky conditions are introduced with shading a light on the previous work in identifying clear sky conditions. Taking into consideration that, clear sky solar radiation estimation is of great importance for solar tracking, a detailed review of main available models is given in this chapter. As daily, monthly, seasonally, biannually and yearly mean daily solar radiations are required information for designing and installing long term tracking systems, different available methods are commented regarding their applicability for the estimation of solar radiation information in the desired format from the data that are available. An important accent is paid also on the assessment and comparison of monthly mean daily solar radiation estimation models.

scholarly journals Atmospheric effect on the ground-based measurements of broadband surface albedo

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2675-2688 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Manninen ◽  
A. Riihelä ◽  
G. de Leeuw
Keyword(s):  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Surface Albedo ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Empirical Method ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Atmospheric Effect ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Sky Conditions

Abstract. Ground-based pyranometer measurements of the (clear-sky) broadband surface albedo are affected by the atmospheric conditions (mainly by aerosol particles, water vapour and ozone). A new semi-empirical method for estimating the magnitude of the effect of atmospheric conditions on surface albedo measurements in clear-sky conditions is presented. Global and reflected radiation and/or aerosol optical depth (AOD) at two wavelengths are needed to apply the method. Depending on the aerosol optical depth and the solar zenith angle values, the effect can be as large as 20%. For the cases we tested using data from the Cabauw atmospheric test site in the Netherlands, the atmosphere caused typically up to 5% overestimation of surface albedo with respect to corresponding black-sky surface albedo values.

Long-term Evolution of Clear Sky Surface Solar Radiation and Its Driving Factors Over East Asia

2021 ◽  
pp. 118661
Author(s):  
Ziyan Wang ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Lunche Wang ◽  
Lan Feng ◽  
Yingying Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Long Term Evolution ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Term Evolution

scholarly journals A New Long-Term Downward Surface Solar Radiation Dataset over China from 1958 to 2015

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 6167
Author(s):  
Ning Hou ◽  
Xiaotong Zhang ◽  
Weiyu Zhang ◽  
Jiawen Xu ◽  
Chunjie Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Term Variation ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Variation Trends

Downward surface solar radiation (Rs) plays a dominant role in determining the climate and environment on the Earth. However, the densely distributed ground observations of Rs are usually insufficient to meet the increasing demand of the climate diagnosis and analysis well, so it is essential to build a long-term accurate Rs dataset. The extremely randomized trees (ERT) algorithm was used to generate Rs using routine meteorological observations (2000–2015) from the Climate Data Center of the Chinese Meteorological Administration (CDC/CMA). The estimated Rs values were validated against ground measurements at the national scale with an overall correlation coefficient value of 0.97, a mean bias of 0.04 Wm−2, a root-mean-square-error value of 23.12 Wm−2, and a mean relative error of 9.81%. It indicates that the estimated Rs from the ERT-based model is reasonably accurate. Moreover, the ERT-based model was used to generate a new daily Rs dataset at 756 CDC/CMA stations from 1958 to 2015. The long-term variation trends of Rs at 454 stations covering 46 consecutive years (1970–2015) were also analyzed. The Rs in China showed a significant decline trend (−1.1 Wm−2 per decade) during 1970–2015. A decreasing trend (−2.8 Wm−2 per decade) in Rs during 1970–1992 was observed, followed by a recovery trend (0.23 Wm−2 per decade) during 1992–2015. The recovery trends at individual stations were found at 233 out of 454 stations during 1970–2015, which were mainly located in southern and northern China. The new Rs dataset would substantially provide basic data for the related studies in agriculture, ecology, and meteorology.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Level-3 MODIS daily aerosol optical depth in the context of surface solar radiation and numerical weather modeling

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 675-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Ruiz-Arias ◽  
J. Dudhia ◽  
C. A. Gueymard ◽  
D. Pozo-Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Numerical Weather ◽  
Modis Aod ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Weather Modeling ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Level 2

Abstract. The daily Level-3 MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) product is a global daily spatial aggregation of the Level-2 MODIS AOD (10-km spatial resolution) into a regular grid with a resolution of 1° × 1°. It offers interesting characteristics for surface solar radiation and numerical weather modeling applications. However, most of the validation efforts so far have focused on Level-2 products and only rarely on Level 3. In this contribution, we compare the Level-3 Collection 5.1 MODIS AOD dataset from the Terra satellite available since 2000 against observed daily AOD values at 550 nm from more than 500 AERONET ground stations around the globe. Overall, the mean error of the dataset is 0.03 (17%, relative to the mean ground-observed AOD), with a root mean square error of 0.14 (73%, relative to the same), but these errors are also found highly dependent on geographical region. We propose new functions for the expected error of the Level-3 AOD, as well as for both its mean error and its standard deviation. Additionally, we investigate the role of pixel count vis-à-vis the reliability of the AOD estimates, and also explore to what extent the spatial aggregation from Level 2 to Level 3 influences the total uncertainty in the Level-3 AOD. Finally, we use a radiative transfer model to investigate how the Level-3 AOD uncertainty propagates into the calculated direct normal and global horizontal irradiances.

scholarly journals Modelled and observed changes in aerosols and surface solar radiation over Europe between 1960 and 2009

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 13457-13513 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Turnock ◽  
D. V. Spracklen ◽  
K. S. Carslaw ◽  
G. W. Mann ◽  
M. T. Woodhouse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Sulfate Aerosol ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosols ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. Substantial changes in anthropogenic aerosols and precursor gas emissions have occurred over recent decades due to the implementation of air pollution control legislation and economic growth. The response of atmospheric aerosols to these changes and the impact on climate are poorly constrained, particularly in studies using detailed aerosol chemistry climate models. Here we compare the HadGEM3-UKCA coupled chemistry-climate model for the period 1960 to 2009 against extensive ground based observations of sulfate aerosol mass (1978–2009), total suspended particle matter (SPM, 1978–1998), PM10 (1997–2009), aerosol optical depth (AOD, 2000–2009) and surface solar radiation (SSR, 1960–2009) over Europe. The model underestimates observed sulfate aerosol mass (normalised mean bias factor (NMBF) = −0.4), SPM (NMBF = −0.9), PM10 (NMBF = −0.2) and aerosol optical depth (AOD, NMBF = −0.01) but slightly overpredicts SSR (NMBF = 0.02). Trends in aerosol over the observational period are well simulated by the model, with observed (simulated) changes in sulfate of −68% (−78%), SPM of −42% (−20%), PM10 of −9% (−8%) and AOD of −11% (−14%). Discrepancies in the magnitude of simulated aerosol mass do not affect the ability of the model to reproduce the observed SSR trends. The positive change in observed European SSR (5%) during 1990–2009 ("brightening") is better reproduced by the model when aerosol radiative effects (ARE) are included (3%), compared to simulations where ARE are excluded (0.2%). The simulated top-of-the-atmosphere aerosol radiative forcing over Europe under all-sky conditions increased by 3 W m−2 during the period 1970–2009 in response to changes in anthropogenic emissions and aerosol concentrations.

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