Articles | Volume 15, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11909-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11909-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Oct 2015
Research article |
| 27 Oct 2015
A method to retrieve super-thin cloud optical depth over ocean background with polarized sunlight
W. Sun
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Science Systems and Applications Inc., Hampton, VA 23666, USA
Mail Stop 420, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
R. R. Baize
Science Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
G. Videen
Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD 20783, USA
Science Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
Q. Fu
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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Z. Liu, D. Winker, A. Omar, M. Vaughan, J. Kar, C. Trepte, Y. Hu, and G. Schuster
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W. Sun and C. Lukashin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10303–10324, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10303-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10303-2013, 2013
S. Feng and Q. Fu
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S. Rodier, Y. Hu, and M. Vaughan
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-7-4681-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-7-4681-2013, 2013
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
R. Zhang, D. A. Hegg, J. Huang, and Q. Fu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6091–6099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6091-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6091-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Radiation | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
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Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Hannes J. Griesche, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
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Yinghui Liu
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Cloud detection from state-of-art satellite radar and lidar misses low-level clouds. Using in situ observations, this study confirms this cloud detection limitation over the Arctic Ocean. Impacts of this detection limitation from combined satellite radar and lidar on the monthly mean radiation flux estimations at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere in the Arctic are limited but larger from only satellite radar or satellite lidar in monthly mean and instantaneous values.
Babak Jahani, Hendrik Andersen, Josep Calbó, Josep-Abel González, and Jan Cermak
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The change in the state of sky from cloudy to cloudless (or vice versa) comprises an additional phase called
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William Cossich, Tiziano Maestri, Davide Magurno, Michele Martinazzo, Gianluca Di Natale, Luca Palchetti, Giovanni Bianchini, and Massimo Del Guasta
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13811–13833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13811-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13811-2021, 2021
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The presence of clouds over Concordia, in the Antarctic Plateau, is investigated. Results are obtained by applying a machine learning algorithm to measurements of the infrared radiation emitted by the atmosphere toward the surface. The clear-sky, ice cloud, and mixed-phase cloud occurrence at different timescales is studied. A comparison with satellite measurements highlights the ability of the algorithm to identify multiple cloud conditions and study their variability at different timescales.
Ina Neher, Susanne Crewell, Stefanie Meilinger, Uwe Pfeifroth, and Jörg Trentmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12871–12888, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12871-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12871-2020, 2020
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Photovoltaic power is one current option to meet the rising energy demand with low environmental impact. Global horizontal irradiance (GHI) is the fuel for photovoltaic power installations and needs to be evaluated to plan and dimension power plants. In this study, 35 years of satellite-based GHI data are analyzed over West Africa to determine their impact on photovoltaic power generation. The major challenges for the development of a solar-based power system in West Africa are then outlined.
Eamon K. Conway, Iouli E. Gordon, Jonathan Tennyson, Oleg L. Polyansky, Sergei N. Yurchenko, and Kelly Chance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10015–10027, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10015-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10015-2020, 2020
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Water vapour has a complex spectrum and absorbs from the microwave to the near-UV where it dissociates. There is limited knowledge of the absorption features in the near-UV, and there is a large disagreement for the available models and experiments. We created a new ab initio model that is in good agreement with observation at 363 nm. At lower wavelengths, our calculations suggest that the latest experiments overestimate absorption. This has implications for trace gas retrievals in the near-UV.
Jay Herman, Alexander Cede, Liang Huang, Jerald Ziemke, Omar Torres, Nickolay Krotkov, Matthew Kowalewski, and Karin Blank
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The amount of erythemal irradiance reaching the Earth's surface has been calculated from ozone, aerosol, and reflectivity data obtained from OMI and DSCOVR/EPIC satellite instruments showing areas with high levels of solar UV radiation. Changes in erythemal irradiance, cloud transmission, aerosol transmission, and ozone absorption have been estimated for 14 years 2005–2018 in units of percent per year for 191 locations, mostly large cities, and from EPIC for the entire illuminated Earth.
Rong Tang, Xin Huang, Derong Zhou, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6177–6191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6177-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6177-2020, 2020
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Biomass-burning-induced large areas of dark char (i.e.
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Aolin Jia, Shunlin Liang, Dongdong Wang, Bo Jiang, and Xiaotong Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 881–899, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-881-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-881-2020, 2020
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The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a vital role in regional and global climate change due to its location and orography. After generating a long-term surface radiation (SR) dataset, we characterized the SR spatiotemporal variation along with temperature. Evidence from multiple data sources indicated that the TP dimming was primarily driven by increased aerosols from human activities, and the cooling effect of aerosol loading offsets TP surface warming, revealing the human impact on regional warming.
Lei Zhong, Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Yunfei Fu, Yuanyuan Hu, Xian Wang, Meilin Cheng, and Nan Ge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5529–5541, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5529-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5529-2019, 2019
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Fine-temporal-resolution turbulent heat fluxes at the plateau scale have significant importance for studying diurnal variation characteristics of atmospheric boundary and weather systems in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and its surroundings. Time series of land surface heat fluxes with high temporal resolution over the entire TP were derived. The derived surface heat fluxes proved to be in good agreement with in situ measurements and were superior to GLDAS flux products.
Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Mark A. Vaughan, Jens Redemann, Stuart A. Young, Zhaoyan Liu, Yongxiang Hu, Ali H. Omar, Samuel LeBlanc, Yohei Shinozuka, John Livingston, Qin Zhang, and Kathleen A. Powell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4933–4962, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4933-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4933-2019, 2019
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Significant efforts are required to estimate the direct radiative effects of aerosols above clouds (DAREcloudy). We have used a combination of passive and active A-Train satellite sensors and derive mainly positive global and regional DAREcloudy values (e.g., global seasonal values between 0.13 and 0.26 W m-2). Despite differences in methods and sensors, the DAREcloudy values in this study are generally higher than previously reported. We discuss the primary reasons for these higher estimates.
Domenico Cimini, Philip W. Rosenkranz, Mikhail Y. Tretyakov, Maksim A. Koshelev, and Filomena Romano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15231–15259, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15231-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15231-2018, 2018
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The paper presents a general approach to quantify the uncertainty related to atmospheric absorption models. These models describe how the atmosphere interacts with radiation, and they have general implications for atmospheric sciences.
The presented approach contributes to a better understanding of the total uncertainty affecting atmospheric radiative properties, thus reducing the chances of systematic errors when observations are exploited for weather forecast or climate trend derivations.
Michael Schäfer, Katharina Loewe, André Ehrlich, Corinna Hoose, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13115–13133, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13115-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13115-2018, 2018
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Airborne observed horizontal fields of cloud optical thickness are compared with semi-idealized large eddy simulations of Arctic stratus. The comparison focuses on horizontal cloud inhomogeneities and directional features of the small-scale cloud structures. Using inhomogeneity parameters and autocorrelation analysis it is investigated, if the observed small-scale cloud inhomogeneities can be represented by the model. Forcings for cloud inhomogeneities are investigated in a sensitivity study.
Qianqian Song, Zhibo Zhang, Hongbin Yu, Seiji Kato, Ping Yang, Peter Colarco, Lorraine A. Remer, and Claire L. Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11303–11322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11303-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11303-2018, 2018
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Mineral dust is the most abundant atmospheric aerosol component in terms of dry mass. In this study, we integrate recent aircraft measurements of dust microphysical and optical properties with satellite retrievals of aerosol and radiative fluxes to quantify the dust direct radiative effects on the shortwave and longwave radiation at both the top of the atmosphere and the surface in the tropical North Atlantic during summer months.
Shu-Peng Ho, Liang Peng, Carl Mears, and Richard A. Anthes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 259–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-259-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-259-2018, 2018
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In this study, we compare 7 years of atmospheric total precipitable water (TPW) derived from multiple microwave radiometers to collocated TPW estimates derived from COSMIC radio occultation under various atmospheric conditions over the oceans. Results show that these two TPW trends from independent observations are larger than previous estimates and are a strong indication of the positive water vapor–temperature feedback on a warming planet.
Anna Mackie, Paul I. Palmer, and Helen Brindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 15095–15119, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15095-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-15095-2017, 2017
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We compare the balance of solar and thermal radiation at the surface and the top of the atmosphere from a forecasting model to observations at a site in Niamey, Niger, in the Sahel. To interpret the energy budgets we examine other factors, such as cloud properties, water vapour and aerosols, which we use to understand the differences between the observation and model. We find that some differences are linked to lack of ice in clouds, underestimated aerosol loading and surface temperatures.
Thomas Fauchez, Steven Platnick, Kerry Meyer, Céline Cornet, Frédéric Szczap, and Tamás Várnai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8489–8508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8489-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8489-2017, 2017
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This study presents impact of cirrus cloud horizontal heterogeneity on simulated thermal infrared brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere for spatial resolutions ranging from 50 m to 10 km. The cirrus is generated by the 3DCLOUD code and the radiative transfer by the 3DMCPOL code. Brightness temperatures are mostly impacted by the horizontal transport effect and plane-parallel bias at high and coarse spatial resolutions, respectively, with a minimum around 100 m–250 m.
Zhao-Cheng Zeng, Qiong Zhang, Vijay Natraj, Jack S. Margolis, Run-Lie Shia, Sally Newman, Dejian Fu, Thomas J. Pongetti, Kam W. Wong, Stanley P. Sander, Paul O. Wennberg, and Yuk L. Yung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2495–2508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2495-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2495-2017, 2017
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We propose a novel approach to describing the scattering effects of atmospheric aerosols using H2O retrievals in the near infrared. We found that the aerosol scattering effect is the primary contributor to the variations in the wavelength dependence of the H2O SCD retrievals and the scattering effects can be derived using H2O retrievals from multiple bands. This proposed method could potentially contribute towards reducing biases in greenhouse gas retrievals from space.
Michael Schäfer, Eike Bierwirth, André Ehrlich, Evelyn Jäkel, Frank Werner, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2359–2372, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2359-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2359-2017, 2017
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Cloud optical thickness fields, retrieved from solar spectral radiance measurements, are used to investigate the directional structure of horizontal cloud inhomogeneities with scalar one-dimensional inhomogeneity parameters, two-dimensional auto-correlation functions, and two-dimensional Fourier analysis. The investigations reveal that it is not sufficient to quantify horizontal cloud inhomogeneities by one-dimensional inhomogeneity parameters; two-dimensional parameters are necessary.
Quentin Libois, Liviu Ivanescu, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Hannes Schulz, Heiko Bozem, W. Richard Leaitch, Julia Burkart, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Andreas B. Herber, Amir A. Aliabadi, and Éric Girard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15689–15707, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15689-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15689-2016, 2016
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The first airborne measurements performed with the FIRR are presented. Vertical profiles of upwelling spectral radiance in the far-infrared are measured in the Arctic atmosphere for the first time. They show the impact of the temperature inversion on the radiative budget of the atmosphere, especially in the far-infrared. The presence of ice clouds also significantly alters the far-infrared budget, highlighting the critical interplay between water vapour and clouds in this very dry region.
Jani Huttunen, Harri Kokkola, Tero Mielonen, Mika Esa Juhani Mononen, Antti Lipponen, Juha Reunanen, Anders Vilhelm Lindfors, Santtu Mikkonen, Kari Erkki Juhani Lehtinen, Natalia Kouremeti, Alkiviadis Bais, Harri Niska, and Antti Arola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8181–8191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8181-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8181-2016, 2016
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For a good estimate of the current forcing by anthropogenic aerosols, knowledge in past is needed. One option to lengthen time series is to retrieve aerosol optical depth from solar radiation measurements. We have evaluated several methods for this task. Most of the methods produce aerosol optical depth estimates with a good accuracy. However, machine learning methods seem to be the most applicable not to produce any systematic biases, since they do not need constrain the aerosol properties.
Claire Pettersen, Ralf Bennartz, Mark S. Kulie, Aronne J. Merrelli, Matthew D. Shupe, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4743–4756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, 2016
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We examined four summers of data from a ground-based atmospheric science instrument suite at Summit Station, Greenland, to isolate the signature of the ice precipitation. By using a combination of instruments with different specialities, we identified a passive microwave signature of the ice precipitation. This ice signature compares well to models using synthetic data characteristic of the site.
Zhibo Zhang, Kerry Meyer, Hongbin Yu, Steven Platnick, Peter Colarco, Zhaoyan Liu, and Lazaros Oreopoulos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2877–2900, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2877-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2877-2016, 2016
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The frequency of occurrence and shortwave direct radiative effects (DRE) of above-cloud aerosols (ACAs) over global oceans are investigated using 8 years of collocated CALIOP and MODIS observations. We estimated that ACAs have a global ocean annual mean diurnally averaged cloudy-sky DRE of 0.015 W m−2 (range of −0.03 to 0.06 W m−2) at TOA. The DREs at surface and within atmosphere are −0.15 W m−2 (range of −0.09 to −0.21 W m−2), and 0.17 W m−2 (range of 0.11 to 0.24 W m−2), respectively.
Wenjun Tang, Jun Qin, Kun Yang, Shaomin Liu, Ning Lu, and Xiaolei Niu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2543–2557, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2543-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2543-2016, 2016
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In this paper, we develop a new method to quickly retrieve high-resolution surface solar radiation (SSR) over China by combining MODIS and MTSAT data. The RMSEs of the retrieved SSR at hourly, daily, and monthly scales are about 98.5, 34.2, and 22.1 W m−2. The accuracy is comparable to or even higher than other two satellite radiation products. Finally, we derive an 8-year high-resolution SSR data set (hourly, 5 km) from 2007 to 2014, which would contribute to studies of land surface processes.
S. Doniki, D. Hurtmans, L. Clarisse, C. Clerbaux, H. M. Worden, K. W. Bowman, and P.-F. Coheur
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12971–12987, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12971-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12971-2015, 2015
M. Schäfer, E. Bierwirth, A. Ehrlich, E. Jäkel, and M. Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8147–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8147-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8147-2015, 2015
W. Sun, R. R. Baize, C. Lukashin, and Y. Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7725–7734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7725-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7725-2015, 2015
E. C. Turner, H.-T. Lee, and S. F. B. Tett
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6561–6575, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6561-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6561-2015, 2015
M. M. Wonsick, R. T. Pinker, and Y. Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8749–8761, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8749-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8749-2014, 2014
X. Ceamanos, D. Carrer, and J.-L. Roujean
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8209–8232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8209-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8209-2014, 2014
Q. Shi and S. Liang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5659–5677, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5659-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5659-2014, 2014
C. Fricke, A. Ehrlich, E. Jäkel, B. Bohn, M. Wirth, and M. Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1943–1958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1943-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1943-2014, 2014
Y. Ma, Z. Zhu, L. Zhong, B. Wang, C. Han, Z. Wang, Y. Wang, L. Lu, P. M. Amatya, W. Ma, and Z. Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1507–1515, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1507-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1507-2014, 2014
W. Sun and C. Lukashin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10303–10324, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10303-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10303-2013, 2013
L. Shi, C. J. Schreck III, and V. O. John
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6907–6920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6907-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6907-2013, 2013
M. J. Alvarado, V. H. Payne, E. J. Mlawer, G. Uymin, M. W. Shephard, K. E. Cady-Pereira, J. S. Delamere, and J.-L. Moncet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6687–6711, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6687-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6687-2013, 2013
T. Várnai, A. Marshak, and W. Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3899–3908, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3899-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3899-2013, 2013
A. Riihelä, T. Manninen, V. Laine, K. Andersson, and F. Kaspar
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3743–3762, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3743-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3743-2013, 2013
Y. L. Roberts, P. Pilewskie, B. C. Kindel, D. R. Feldman, and W. D. Collins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3133–3147, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3133-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3133-2013, 2013
C. L. Young, I. N. Sokolik, and J. Dufek
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 3699–3715, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3699-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3699-2012, 2012
A. Ehrlich, E. Bierwirth, M. Wendisch, A. Herber, and J.-F. Gayet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 3493–3510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3493-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3493-2012, 2012
E. M. Wilcox
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 139–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-139-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-139-2012, 2012
F. Jégou, S. Godin-Beekman, M. P. Corrêa, C. Brogniez, F. Auriol, V. H. Peuch, M. Haeffelin, A. Pazmino, P. Saiag, F. Goutail, and E. Mahé
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 13377–13394, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-13377-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-13377-2011, 2011
P. Veglio and T. Maestri
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 12925–12943, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-12925-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-12925-2011, 2011
G. de Boer, W. D. Collins, S. Menon, and C. N. Long
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 11937–11949, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11937-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11937-2011, 2011
Y. Ma, L. Zhong, B. Wang, W. Ma, X. Chen, and M. Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 10461–10469, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10461-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10461-2011, 2011
J. R. Taylor, W. J. Randel, and E. J. Jensen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 10085–10095, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10085-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-10085-2011, 2011
A. Devasthale, J. Sedlar, and M. Tjernström
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9813–9823, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9813-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9813-2011, 2011
I. Ialongo, A. Arola, J. Kujanpää, and J. Tamminen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9649–9658, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9649-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9649-2011, 2011
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Short summary
A method is reported for retrieving super-thin cloud optical depth with polarized light. It is found that near-backscatter p-polarized light is sensitive to clouds, but not to ocean conditions. Near-backscatter p-polarized intensity linearly relates to super-thin cloud optical depth. Based on these findings, super-thin cloud optical depth can be retrieved with little effect from surface reflection.
A method is reported for retrieving super-thin cloud optical depth with polarized light. It is...
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