Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6305-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6305-2017
Research article
 | 
23 May 2017
Research article |  | 23 May 2017

Impact of Saharan dust on North Atlantic marine stratocumulus clouds: importance of the semidirect effect

Anahita Amiri-Farahani, Robert J. Allen, David Neubauer, and Ulrike Lohmann

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Cited articles

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Short summary
We use observations from 2004 to 2012 to obtain estimates of the aerosol–cloud radiative effect, including its uncertainty, for dust aerosol influencing Atlantic marine stratocumulus clouds (MSc) off the coast of north Africa. Saharan dust modifies MSc in a way that acts to cool the planet. There is a strong seasonal variation, with the aerosol–cloud radiative effect switching from significantly negative during the boreal summer to weakly positive during boreal winter.
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