Accounting for the effects of Sastrugi in the CERES Clear-Sky Antarctic shortwave ADMs

Abstract. The Cloud and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Instruments on NASA's Terra, Aqua and Soumi-NPP satellites are used to provide a long-term measurement of the Earth's energy budget. To accomplish this, the radiances measured by the instruments must be inverted to fluxes by the use of a scene-type dependent angular distribution model (ADM). For permanent snow scenes over Antarctica, shortwave ADMs are created by compositing radiance measurements over the full viewing zenith and azimuth range. However, the presence of small-scale wind blown roughness features called sastrugi cause the BRDF of the snow to vary significantly based upon the solar azimuth angle and location. This can result in monthly regional biases as large as ±15 Wm−2 in the inverted TOA SW flux. In this paper we created a set of ADMs that account for the sastrugi effect by using measurements from the Multi-Angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) instrument to derive statistical relationships between radiance from different viewing angles. These ADMs reduce the monthly regional biases to ±5 Wm−2 and the monthly-mean biases are reduced by up to 50%. These improved ADMs are used as part of the next edition of the CERES data.

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Accounting for the effects of sastrugi in the CERES clear-sky Antarctic shortwave angular distribution models

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-8-3163-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 3163-3175 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. Corbett ◽

W. Su

Keyword(s):

Angular Distribution ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Distribution Model ◽

Small Scale ◽

Distribution Models ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Statistical Relationships ◽

Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution

Abstract. The Cloud and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on NASA's Terra, Aqua and Soumi NPP satellites are used to provide a long-term measurement of Earth's energy budget. To accomplish this, the radiances measured by the instruments must be inverted to fluxes by the use of a scene-type-dependent angular distribution model (ADM). For permanent snow scenes over Antarctica, shortwave (SW) ADMs are created by compositing radiance measurements over the full viewing zenith and azimuth range. However, the presence of small-scale wind blown roughness features called sastrugi cause the BRDF (bidirectional reflectance distribution function) of the snow to vary significantly based upon the solar azimuth angle and location. This can result in monthly regional biases between −12 and 7.5 Wm−2 in the inverted TOA (top-of-atmosphere) SW flux. The bias is assessed by comparing the CERES shortwave fluxes derived from nadir observations with those from all viewing zenith angles, as the sastrugi affect fluxes inverted from the oblique viewing angles more than for the nadir viewing angles. In this paper we further describe the clear-sky Antarctic ADMs from Su et al. (2015). These ADMs account for the sastrugi effect by using measurements from the Multi-Angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) instrument to derive statistical relationships between radiance from different viewing angles. We show here that these ADMs reduce the bias and artifacts in the CERES SW flux caused by sastrugi, both locally and Antarctic-wide. The regional monthly biases from sastrugi are reduced to between −5 and 7 Wm−2, and the monthly-mean biases over Antarctica are reduced by up to 0.64 Wm−2, a decrease of 74 %. These improved ADMs are used as part of the Edition 4 CERES SSF (Single Scanner Footprint) data.

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Developing an Aircraft-Based Angular Distribution Model of Solar Reflection from Wildfire Smoke to Aid Satellite-Based Radiative Flux Estimation

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11131509 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 1509

Author(s):

Tamás Várnai ◽

Charles Gatebe ◽

Ritesh Gautam ◽

Rajesh Poudyal ◽

Wenying Su

Keyword(s):

Angular Distribution ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Atmospheric Correction ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Radiative Flux ◽

Distribution Model ◽

Airborne Measurements ◽

Wildfire Smoke ◽

Wide Range

This study examines the angular distribution of scattered solar radiation associated with wildfire smoke aerosols observed over boreal forests in Canada during the ARCTAS (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites) campaign. First, it estimates smoke radiative parameters (550 nm optical depth of 3.9 and single scattering albedo of 0.90) using quasi-simultaneous multiangular and multispectral airborne measurements by the Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). Next, the paper estimates the broadband top-of-atmosphere radiances that a satellite instrument such as the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) could have observed, given the narrowband CAR measurements made from an aircraft circling about a kilometer above the smoke layer. This estimation includes both an atmospheric correction that accounts for the atmosphere above the aircraft and a narrowband-to-broadband conversion. The angular distribution of estimated radiances is found to be substantially different than the angular model used in the operational data processing of CERES observations over the same area. This is because the CERES model is a monthly average model that was constructed using observations taken under smoke-free conditions. Finally, a sensitivity analysis shows that the estimated angular distribution remains accurate for a fairly wide range of smoke and underlying surface parameters. Overall, results from this work suggest that airborne CAR measurements can bring some substantial improvements in the accuracy of satellite-based radiative flux estimates.

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Evaluation of net shortwave radiation over China with a regional climate model

Climate Research ◽

10.3354/cr01598 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 147-163

Author(s):

X Liu ◽

Y Kang ◽

Q Liu ◽

Z Guo ◽

Y Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regional Climate Model ◽

Climate Model ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Radiation Budget ◽

Shortwave Radiation ◽

Monsoon Region ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Sky Conditions

The regional climate model RegCM version 4.6, developed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis, was used to simulate the radiation budget over China. Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite data were utilized to evaluate the simulation results based on 4 radiative components: net shortwave (NSW) radiation at the surface of the earth and top of the atmosphere (TOA) under all-sky and clear-sky conditions. The performance of the model for low-value areas of NSW was superior to that for high-value areas. NSW at the surface and TOA under all-sky conditions was significantly underestimated; the spatial distribution of the bias was negative in the north and positive in the south, bounded by 25°N for the annual and seasonal averaged difference maps. Compared with the all-sky condition, the simulation effect under clear-sky conditions was significantly better, which indicates that the cloud fraction is the key factor affecting the accuracy of the simulation. In particular, the bias of the TOA NSW under the clear-sky condition was <±10 W m-2 in the eastern areas. The performance of the model was better over the eastern monsoon region in winter and autumn for surface NSW under clear-sky conditions, which may be related to different levels of air pollution during each season. Among the 3 areas, the regional average biases overall were largest (negative) over the Qinghai-Tibet alpine region and smallest over the eastern monsoon region.

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On the Use of Geophysical Parameters for the Top-of-Atmosphere Shortwave Clear-Sky Radiance-to-Flux Conversion in EarthCARE

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology ◽

10.1175/jtech-d-18-0087.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 717-732 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

F. Tornow ◽

C. Domenech ◽

J. Fischer

Keyword(s):

Permutation Test ◽

Climate Modeling ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Max Planck ◽

Distribution Models ◽

Dynamic Surface ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Fresh Snow ◽

Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution

AbstractWe have investigated whether differences across Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) top-of-atmosphere (TOA) clear-sky angular distribution models, estimated separately over regional (1° × 1° longitude–latitude) and temporal (monthly) bins above land, can be explained by geophysical parameters from Max Planck Institute Aerosol Climatology, version 1 (MAC-v1), ECMWF twentieth-century reanalysis (ERA-20C), and a MODIS bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)/albedo/nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) gap-filled products (MCD43GF) climatology. Our research aimed to dissolve binning and to isolate inherent properties or indicators of such properties, which govern the TOA radiance-to-flux conversion in the absence of clouds. We collocated over seven million clear-sky footprints from CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF), edition 4, data with above geophysical auxiliary data. Looking at data per surface type and per scattering direction—as perceived by the broadband radiometer (BBR) on board Earth Clouds, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE)—we identified optimal subsets of geophysical parameters using two different methods: random forest regression followed by a permutation test and multiple linear regression combined with the genetic algorithm. Using optimal subsets, we then trained artificial neural networks (ANNs). Flux error standard deviations on unseen test data were on average 2.7–4.0 W m−2, well below the 10 W m−2 flux accuracy threshold defined for the mission, with the exception of footprints containing fresh snow. Dynamic surface types (i.e., fresh snow and sea ice) required simpler ANN input sets to guarantee mission-worthy flux estimates, especially over footprints consisting of several surface types.

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Assessing Stability of CERES-FM3 Daytime Longwave Unfiltered Radiance with AIRS Radiances

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology ◽

10.1175/jtech-d-11-00066.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 375-381 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xianglei Huang ◽

Norman G. Loeb ◽

Huiwen Chuang

Keyword(s):

Radiant Energy ◽

Longwave Radiation ◽

Energy System ◽

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder ◽

Clear Sky ◽

The Difference ◽

Spectrally Resolved ◽

Independent Assessment ◽

Flight Model ◽

Bound Estimation

Abstract Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) daytime longwave (LW) radiances are determined from the difference between a total (TOT) channel (0.3–200 μm) measurement and a shortwave (SW) channel (0.3–5 μm) measurement, while nighttime LW radiances are obtained directly from the TOT channel. This means that a drift in the SW channel or the SW portion of the TOT channel could impact the daytime longwave radiances, but not the nighttime ones. This study evaluates daytime and nighttime CERES LW radiances for a possible secular drift in CERES LW observations using spectral radiances observed by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). By examining the coincidental AIRS and CERES Flight Model 3 (FM3) measurements over the tropical clear-sky oceans for all of January and July months since 2005, a secular drift of about −0.11% yr−1 in the daytime CERES-FM3 longwave unfiltered radiance can be identified in the CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) Edition 2 product. This provides an upper-bound estimation for the drift in daytime outgoing longwave radiation, which is approximately −0.323 W m−2 yr−1. This estimation is consistent with the independent assessment concluded by the CERES calibration team. Such secular drift has been greatly reduced in the latest CERES SSF Edition 3 product. Comparisons are conducted for the CERES window channel as well, and it shows essentially no drift. This study serves as a practical example illustrating how the measurements of spectrally resolved radiances can be used to help evaluate data products from other narrowband or broadband measurements.

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Angular Distribution Models for Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Flux Estimation from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System Instrument on the Terra Satellite. Part I: Methodology

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology ◽

10.1175/jtech1712.1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 338-351 ◽

Cited By ~ 207

Author(s):

Norman G. Loeb ◽

Seiji Kato ◽

Konstantin Loukachine ◽

Natividad Manalo-Smith

Keyword(s):

Angular Distribution ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽

Energy System ◽

Distribution Models ◽

Radiative Fluxes ◽

Earth Observing System ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Terra Satellite

Abstract The Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) provides coincident global cloud and aerosol properties together with reflected solar, emitted terrestrial longwave, and infrared window radiative fluxes. These data are needed to improve the understanding and modeling of the interaction between clouds, aerosols, and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, surface, and within the atmosphere. This paper describes the approach used to estimate top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes from instantaneous CERES radiance measurements on the Terra satellite. A key component involves the development of empirical angular distribution models (ADMs) that account for the angular dependence of the earth’s radiation field at the TOA. The CERES Terra ADMs are developed using 24 months of CERES radiances, coincident cloud and aerosol retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and meteorological parameters from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Data Assimilation System (DAS) V4.0.3 product. Scene information for the ADMs is from MODIS retrievals and GEOS DAS V4.0.3 properties over the ocean, land, desert, and snow for both clear and cloudy conditions. Because the CERES Terra ADMs are global, and far more CERES data are available on Terra than were available from CERES on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the methodology used to define CERES Terra ADMs is different in many respects from that used to develop CERES TRMM ADMs, particularly over snow/sea ice, under cloudy conditions, and for clear scenes over land and desert.

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Next-generation angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux calculation from CERES instruments: methodology

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-8-611-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 611-632 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

W. Su ◽

J. Corbett ◽

Z. Eitzen ◽

L. Liang

Keyword(s):

Angular Distribution ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Continuous Functions ◽

Climate Feedback ◽

Radiative Energy ◽

Next Generation ◽

Distribution Models

Abstract. The top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes are critical components to advancing our understanding of the Earth's radiative energy balance, radiative effects of clouds and aerosols, and climate feedback. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments provide broadband shortwave and longwave radiance measurements. These radiances are converted to fluxes by using scene-type-dependent angular distribution models (ADMs). This paper describes the next-generation ADMs that are developed for Terra and Aqua using all available CERES rotating azimuth plane radiance measurements. Coincident cloud and aerosol retrievals, and radiance measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and meteorological parameters from Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) data assimilation version 5.4.1 are used to define scene type. CERES radiance measurements are stratified by scene type and by other parameters that are important for determining the anisotropy of the given scene type. Anisotropic factors are then defined either for discrete intervals of relevant parameters or as a continuous functions of combined parameters, depending on the scene type. Significant differences between the ADMs described in this paper and the existing ADMs are over clear-sky scene types and polar scene types. Over clear ocean, we developed a set of shortwave (SW) ADMs that explicitly account for aerosols. Over clear land, the SW ADMs are developed for every 1° latitude × 1° longitude region for every calendar month using a kernel-based bidirectional reflectance model. Over clear Antarctic scenes, SW ADMs are developed by accounting the effects of sastrugi on anisotropy. Over sea ice, a sea-ice brightness index is used to classify the scene type. Under cloudy conditions over all surface types, the longwave (LW) and window (WN) ADMs are developed by combining surface and cloud-top temperature, surface and cloud emissivity, cloud fraction, and precipitable water. Compared to the existing ADMs, the new ADMs change the monthly mean instantaneous fluxes by up to 5 W m−2 on a regional scale of 1° latitude × 1° longitude, but the flux changes are less than 0.5 W m−2 on a global scale.

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Top-of-Atmosphere Direct Radiative Effect of Aerosols over Global Oceans from Merged CERES and MODIS Observations

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli3504.1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 3506-3526 ◽

Cited By ~ 139

Author(s):

Norman G. Loeb ◽

Natividad Manalo-Smith

Keyword(s):

Information Service ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Surface Fluxes ◽

Radiative Effect ◽

Distribution Models ◽

Radiative Fluxes ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Global Oceans

Abstract The direct radiative effect of aerosols (DREA) is defined as the difference between radiative fluxes in the absence and presence of aerosols. In this study, the direct radiative effect of aerosols is estimated for 46 months (March 2000–December 2003) of merged Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra global measurements over ocean. This analysis includes the contribution from clear regions in both clear and partly cloudy CERES footprints. MODIS–CERES narrow-to-broadband regressions are developed to convert clear-sky MODIS narrowband radiances to broadband shortwave (SW) radiances, and CERES clear-sky angular distribution models (ADMs) are used to estimate the corresponding top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes that are needed to determine the DREA. Clear-sky MODIS pixels are identified using two independent cloud masks: (i) the NOAA/National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) algorithm that is used for inferring aerosol properties from MODIS on the CERES Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product (NOAA SSF); and (ii) the standard algorithm that is used by the MODIS aerosol group to produce the MODIS aerosol product (MOD04). Over global oceans, direct radiative cooling by aerosols for clear scenes that are identified from MOD04 is estimated to be 40% larger than for clear scenes from NOAA SSF (5.5 compared to 3.8 W m−2). Regionally, differences are largest in areas that are affected by dust aerosol, such as oceanic regions that are adjacent to the Sahara and Saudi Arabian deserts, and in northern Pacific Ocean regions that are influenced by dust transported from Asia. The net total-sky (clear and cloudy) DREA is negative (cooling) and is estimated to be −2.0 W m−2 from MOD04, and −1.6 W m−2 from NOAA SSF. The DREA is shown to have pronounced seasonal cycles in the Northern Hemisphere and large year-to-year fluctuations near deserts. However, no systematic trend in deseasonalized anomalies of the DREA is observed over the 46-month time series that is considered.

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Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) Edition-4.0 Data Product

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-17-0208.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 895-918 ◽

Cited By ~ 176

Author(s):

Norman G. Loeb ◽

David R. Doelling ◽

Hailan Wang ◽

Wenying Su ◽

Cathy Nguyen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regional Differences ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Marine Stratocumulus ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Data Product ◽

Cloud Radiative Effect ◽

Global Mean

The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) top-of-atmosphere (TOA), Edition 4.0 (Ed4.0), data product is described. EBAF Ed4.0 is an update to EBAF Ed2.8, incorporating all of the Ed4.0 suite of CERES data product algorithm improvements and consistent input datasets throughout the record. A one-time adjustment to shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) TOA fluxes is made to ensure that global mean net TOA flux for July 2005–June 2015 is consistent with the in situ value of 0.71 W m−2. While global mean all-sky TOA flux differences between Ed4.0 and Ed2.8 are within 0.5 W m−2, appreciable SW regional differences occur over marine stratocumulus and snow/sea ice regions. Marked regional differences in SW clear-sky TOA flux occur in polar regions and dust areas over ocean. Clear-sky LW TOA fluxes in EBAF Ed4.0 exceed Ed2.8 in regions of persistent high cloud cover. Owing to substantial differences in global mean clear-sky TOA fluxes, the net cloud radiative effect in EBAF Ed4.0 is −18 W m−2 compared to −21 W m−2 in EBAF Ed2.8. The overall uncertainty in 1° × 1° latitude–longitude regional monthly all-sky TOA flux is estimated to be 3 W m−2 [one standard deviation (1 σ)] for the Terra-only period and 2.5 W m−2 for the Terra– Aqua period both for SW and LW fluxes. The SW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is estimated to be 6 W m−2 for the Terra-only period and 5 W m−2 for the Terra– Aqua period. The LW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is 5 W m−2 for Terra only and 4.5 W m−2 for Terra– Aqua.

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Longwave Radiative Effect of the Cloud-Aerosol Transition Zone Based on CERES Observations

10.5194/acp-2021-421 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Babak Jahani ◽

Hendrik Andersen ◽

Josep Calbó ◽

Josep-Abel González ◽

Jan Cermak

Keyword(s):

Radiative Transfer ◽

Transition Zone ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Radiative Transfer Model ◽

Transfer Model ◽

Radiative Effect ◽

Radiative Effects ◽

Clear Sky ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract. This study presents an approach for quantification of cloud-aerosol transition zone broadband longwave radiative effects at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) during daytime over the ocean, based on satellite observations and radiative transfer simulation. Specifically, we used several products from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) sensors for identification and selection of CERES footprints with horizontally homogeneous transition zone and clear-sky conditions. For the selected transition zone footprints, radiative effect was calculated as the difference between the instantaneous CERES TOA upwelling broadband longwave radiance observations and corresponding clear-sky radiance simulations. The clear-sky radiances were simulated using the Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer model fed by the hourly ERA5 reanalysis (fifth generation ECMWF reanalysis) atmospheric and surface data. The CERES radiance observations corresponding to the clear-sky footprints detected were also used for validating the simulated clear-sky radiances. We tested this approach using the radiative measurements made by the MODIS and CERES instruments onboard Aqua platform over the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean during August 2010. For the studied period and domain, transition zone radiative effect (given in flux units) is on average equal to 8.0 ± 3.7 W m−2 (heating effect; median: 5.4 W m−2), although cases with radiative effects as large as 50 W m−2 were found.

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