Articles | Volume 20, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12889-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12889-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Nov 2020
Research article |
| 05 Nov 2020
| 05 Nov 2020
A test of the ability of current bulk optical models to represent the radiative properties of cirrus cloud across the mid- and far-infrared
Richard J. Bantges
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
National Centre for Earth Observation, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Helen E. Brindley
National Centre for Earth Observation, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Jonathan E. Murray
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Alan E. Last
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Jacqueline E. Russell
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Cathryn Fox
Met Office, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
Stuart Fox
Met Office, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
Chawn Harlow
Met Office, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
Sebastian J. O'Shea
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Keith N. Bower
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Bryan A. Baum
Science and Technology Corporation, Madison, WI 53705, USA
Ping Yang
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
Hilke Oetjen
Earth and Mission Science Division, ESA/ESTEC, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, the Netherlands
Juliet C. Pickering
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
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The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Florian Ewald, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Julien Delanoë, Stuart Fox, and Bernhard Mayer
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In this study, we show how solar radiance observations can be used to validate and further constrain ice cloud microphysics retrieved from the synergy of radar–lidar measurements. Since most radar–lidar retrievals rely on a global assumption about the ice particle shape, ice water content and particle size biases are to be expected in individual cloud regimes. In this work, we identify and correct these biases by reconciling simulated and measured solar radiation reflected from these clouds.
Huihui Wu, Jonathan W. Taylor, Justin M. Langridge, Chenjie Yu, James D. Allan, Kate Szpek, Michael I. Cotterell, Paul I. Williams, Michael Flynn, Patrick Barker, Cathryn Fox, Grant Allen, James Lee, and Hugh Coe
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Seasonal biomass burning over West Africa is a globally significant source of carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere, which have important climate impacts but are poorly constrained. We conducted in situ airborne measurements to investigate the evolution of smoke aerosol properties in this region. We observed absorption enhancement for both black carbon and brown carbon after emission, which provides new field results and constraints on aerosol parameterizations for future climate models.
Sebastian O'Shea, Jonathan Crosier, James Dorsey, Louis Gallagher, Waldemar Schledewitz, Keith Bower, Oliver Schlenczek, Stephan Borrmann, Richard Cotton, Christopher Westbrook, and Zbigniew Ulanowski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1917–1939, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1917-2021, 2021
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The number, shape, and size of ice crystals in clouds are important properties that influence the Earth's radiation budget, cloud evolution, and precipitation formation. This work suggests that one of the most widely used methods for in situ measurements of these properties has significant uncertainties and biases. We suggest methods that dramatically improve these measurements, which can be applied to past and future datasets from these instruments.
Fanny Peers, Peter Francis, Steven J. Abel, Paul A. Barrett, Keith N. Bower, Michael I. Cotterell, Ian Crawford, Nicholas W. Davies, Cathryn Fox, Stuart Fox, Justin M. Langridge, Kerry G. Meyer, Steven E. Platnick, Kate Szpek, and Jim M. Haywood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3235–3254, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3235-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3235-2021, 2021
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Satellite observations at high temporal resolution are a valuable asset to monitor the transport of biomass burning plumes and the cloud diurnal cycle in the South Atlantic, but they need to be validated. Cloud and above-cloud aerosol properties retrieved from SEVIRI are compared against MODIS and measurements from the CLARIFY-2017 campaign. While some systematic differences are observed between SEVIRI and MODIS, the overall agreement in the cloud and aerosol properties is very satisfactory.
E. Eva Borbas, Elisabeth Weisz, Chris Moeller, W. Paul Menzel, and Bryan A. Baum
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1191–1203, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1191-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1191-2021, 2021
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As the VIIRS satellite sensor has no infrared (IR) H2O absorption bands, we construct the missing bands through the fusion of imager (VIIRS) and sounder (CrIS) data in an attempt to improve derivation of moisture products. This study clearly demonstrates the positive impact by adding fusion IR absorption spectral bands and the potential for continuing the moisture record from MODIS and the previous generations of polar-orbiting satellite sensors.
Jim M. Haywood, Steven J. Abel, Paul A. Barrett, Nicolas Bellouin, Alan Blyth, Keith N. Bower, Melissa Brooks, Ken Carslaw, Haochi Che, Hugh Coe, Michael I. Cotterell, Ian Crawford, Zhiqiang Cui, Nicholas Davies, Beth Dingley, Paul Field, Paola Formenti, Hamish Gordon, Martin de Graaf, Ross Herbert, Ben Johnson, Anthony C. Jones, Justin M. Langridge, Florent Malavelle, Daniel G. Partridge, Fanny Peers, Jens Redemann, Philip Stier, Kate Szpek, Jonathan W. Taylor, Duncan Watson-Parris, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1049–1084, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1049-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1049-2021, 2021
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Every year, the seasonal cycle of biomass burning from agricultural practices in Africa creates a huge plume of smoke that travels many thousands of kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean. This study provides an overview of a measurement campaign called the cloud–aerosol–radiation interaction and forcing for year 2017 (CLARIFY-2017) and documents the rationale, deployment strategy, observations, and key results from the campaign which utilized the heavily equipped FAAM atmospheric research aircraft.
Georgia Sotiropoulou, Étienne Vignon, Gillian Young, Hugh Morrison, Sebastian J. O'Shea, Thomas Lachlan-Cope, Alexis Berne, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 755–771, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-755-2021, 2021
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Summer clouds have a significant impact on the radiation budget of the Antarctic surface and thus on ice-shelf melting. However, these are poorly represented in climate models due to errors in their microphysical structure, including the number of ice crystals that they contain. We show that breakup from ice particle collisions can substantially magnify the ice crystal number concentration with significant implications for surface radiation. This process is currently missing in climate models.
Patrick A. Barker, Grant Allen, Martin Gallagher, Joseph R. Pitt, Rebecca E. Fisher, Thomas Bannan, Euan G. Nisbet, Stéphane J.-B. Bauguitte, Dominika Pasternak, Samuel Cliff, Marina B. Schimpf, Archit Mehra, Keith N. Bower, James D. Lee, Hugh Coe, and Carl J. Percival
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15443–15459, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15443-2020, 2020
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Africa is estimated to account for approximately 52 % of global biomass burning (BB) carbon emissions. Despite this, there has been little previous in situ study of African BB emissions. This work presents BB emission factors for various atmospheric trace gases sampled from an aircraft in two distinct areas of Africa (Senegal and Uganda). Intracontinental variability in biomass burning methane emission is identified, which is attributed to difference in the specific fuel mixtures burnt.
Huihui Wu, Jonathan W. Taylor, Kate Szpek, Justin M. Langridge, Paul I. Williams, Michael Flynn, James D. Allan, Steven J. Abel, Joseph Pitt, Michael I. Cotterell, Cathryn Fox, Nicholas W. Davies, Jim Haywood, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12697–12719, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12697-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12697-2020, 2020
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Airborne measurements of highly aged biomass burning aerosols (BBAs) over the remote southeast Atlantic provide unique aerosol parameters for climate models. Our observations demonstrate the persistence of strongly absorbing BBAs across wide regions of the South Atlantic. We also found significant vertical variation in the single-scattering albedo of these BBAs, as a function of relative chemical composition and size. Aerosol properties in the marine BL are suggested to be separated from the FT.
Jonathan W. Taylor, Huihui Wu, Kate Szpek, Keith Bower, Ian Crawford, Michael J. Flynn, Paul I. Williams, James Dorsey, Justin M. Langridge, Michael I. Cotterell, Cathryn Fox, Nicholas W. Davies, Jim M. Haywood, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11201–11221, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11201-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11201-2020, 2020
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Every year, huge plumes of smoke hundreds of miles wide travel over the south Atlantic Ocean from fires in central and southern Africa. These plumes absorb the sun’s energy and warm the climate. We used airborne optical instrumentation to determine how absorbing the smoke was as well as the relative importance of black and brown carbon. We also tested different ways of simulating these properties that could be used in a climate model.
Hamish Gordon, Paul R. Field, Steven J. Abel, Paul Barrett, Keith Bower, Ian Crawford, Zhiqiang Cui, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Adrian A. Hill, Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Wilkinson, Huihui Wu, and Ken S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10997–11024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10997-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10997-2020, 2020
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The Met Office's Unified Model is widely used both for weather forecasting and climate prediction. We present the first version of the model in which both aerosol and cloud particle mass and number concentrations are allowed to evolve separately and independently, which is important for studying how aerosols affect weather and climate. We test the model against aircraft observations near Ascension Island in the Atlantic, focusing on how aerosols can "activate" to become cloud droplets.
Yue Li, Bryan A. Baum, Andrew K. Heidinger, W. Paul Menzel, and Elisabeth Weisz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4035–4049, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4035-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4035-2020, 2020
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Use of VIIRS+CrIS fusion products, which provide VIIRS with MODIS-like IR sounding channels, improves cloud mask, cloud phase, and cloud top height retrievals when compared to those using VIIRS data only. NOAA CLAVR-x cloud retrievals for both S-NPP and NOAA-20 data are evaluated through comparisons to the CALIPSO v4 and MODIS Collection 6.1 cloud products. Cloud height retrievals show significant improvement for semitransparent ice clouds, with a reduction in retrieval uncertainties.
Steven J. Abel, Paul A. Barrett, Paquita Zuidema, Jianhao Zhang, Matt Christensen, Fanny Peers, Jonathan W. Taylor, Ian Crawford, Keith N. Bower, and Michael Flynn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4059–4084, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4059-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4059-2020, 2020
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In situ measurements of a free-tropospheric (FT) biomass burning aerosol plume in contact with the boundary layer inversion overriding a pocket of open cells (POC) and surrounding stratiform cloud are presented. The data highlight the contrasting thermodynamic, aerosol and cloud properties in the two cloud regimes and further demonstrate that the cloud regime plays a key role in regulating the flow of FT aerosols into the boundary layer, which has implications for the aerosol indirect effect.
Gary Lloyd, Thomas Choularton, Keith Bower, Jonathan Crosier, Martin Gallagher, Michael Flynn, James Dorsey, Dantong Liu, Jonathan W. Taylor, Oliver Schlenczek, Jacob Fugal, Stephan Borrmann, Richard Cotton, Paul Field, and Alan Blyth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3895–3904, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3895-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3895-2020, 2020
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Measurements of liquid and ice cloud particles were made using an aircraft to penetrate fresh growing convective clouds in the tropical Atlantic. We found small ice particles at surprisingly high temperatures just below freezing. At colder temperatures secondary ice processes rapidly generated high concentrations of ice crystals.
Hye-Sil Kim, Bryan A. Baum, and Yong-Sang Choi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5039–5054, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5039-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5039-2019, 2019
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This study demonstrates that ice cloud emissivity uncertainties at 11, 12, and 13.3 µm can be used to provide a reasonable range of ice cloud layer boundaries. We test this methodology using MODIS Collection 6 cloud properties over the western North Pacific Ocean during August 2015. The cloud boundaries for single-layer optically thin ice clouds show good agreement with those from CALIOP version 4 products, with biases increasing for optically thick and multilayered clouds.
Fanny Peers, Peter Francis, Cathryn Fox, Steven J. Abel, Kate Szpek, Michael I. Cotterell, Nicholas W. Davies, Justin M. Langridge, Kerry G. Meyer, Steven E. Platnick, and Jim M. Haywood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9595–9611, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9595-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9595-2019, 2019
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The measurements from the geostationary satellite MSG/SEVIRI are used to retrieve the cloud and above-cloud aerosol properties over the South Atlantic. The technique relies on the spectral contrast and the magnitude of the signal in the visible to shortwave infrared region as well as the atmospheric correction based on forecasted water vapour profiles. The sensitivity analysis and the stability of the retrieval over time show great potential of the high-temporal-resolution observations.
Jonathan W. Taylor, Sophie L. Haslett, Keith Bower, Michael Flynn, Ian Crawford, James Dorsey, Tom Choularton, Paul J. Connolly, Valerian Hahn, Christiane Voigt, Daniel Sauer, Régis Dupuy, Joel Brito, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Thierry Bourriane, Cyrielle Denjean, Phil Rosenberg, Cyrille Flamant, James D. Lee, Adam R. Vaughan, Peter G. Hill, Barbara Brooks, Valéry Catoire, Peter Knippertz, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8503–8522, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8503-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8503-2019, 2019
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Low-level clouds cover a wide area of southern West Africa (SWA) and play an important role in the region's climate, reflecting sunlight away from the surface. We performed aircraft measurements of aerosols and clouds over SWA during the 2016 summer monsoon and found pollution, and polluted clouds, across the whole region. Smoke from biomass burning in Central Africa is transported to West Africa, causing a polluted background which limits the effect of local pollution on cloud properties.
Nicholas W. Davies, Cathryn Fox, Kate Szpek, Michael I. Cotterell, Jonathan W. Taylor, James D. Allan, Paul I. Williams, Jamie Trembath, Jim M. Haywood, and Justin M. Langridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3417–3434, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3417-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3417-2019, 2019
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This research project assesses biases in traditional, filter-based, aerosol absorption measurements by comparison to state-of-the-art, non-filter-based, or in situ, measurements. We assess biases in traditional absorption measurements for three main aerosol types, including dust and fresh and aged biomass burning aerosols. The main results of this study are that the traditional and state-of-the-art absorption measurements are well correlated and that biases in the former are up to 45 %.
Christophe Bellisario, Helen E. Brindley, Simon F. B. Tett, Rolando Rizzi, Gianluca Di Natale, Luca Palchetti, and Giovanni Bianchini
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7927–7937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7927-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7927-2019, 2019
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We explore the possibility of inferring far-infrared downwelling radiances from mid-infrared observations to better constrain radiation schemes in climate models. Our results imply that while it is feasible to use this type of approach, the quality of the extension will be strongly dependent on the noise characteristics of the observations and on the accurate characterisation of the atmospheric state.
Sebastian J. O'Shea, Jonathan Crosier, James Dorsey, Waldemar Schledewitz, Ian Crawford, Stephan Borrmann, Richard Cotton, and Aaron Bansemer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3067–3079, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3067-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3067-2019, 2019
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Optical array probe measurements of clouds are widely used to inform and validate numerical weather and climate models. In this paper, we discuss artefacts which may bias data from these instruments. Using laboratory and synthetic datasets, we demonstrate how greyscale analysis can be used to filter data, constraining the sample volume and improving data quality particularly at small sizes where their measurements are considered unreliable.
Jamie R. Banks, Anja Hünerbein, Bernd Heinold, Helen E. Brindley, Hartwig Deneke, and Kerstin Schepanski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6893–6911, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6893-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6893-2019, 2019
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Saharan dust storms may be observed over the desert using false-colour infrared satellite imagery; in one widely used scheme dust displays characteristic pink colours. Simulating satellite imagery using a dust transport model, we confirm that water vapour is a major control on the apparent colour of dust in the false-colour imagery and that dust displays its deepest colours when it is at a high altitude and when the atmosphere is dry. Water vapour can obscure the presence of low-altitude dust.
Eoghan Darbyshire, William T. Morgan, James D. Allan, Dantong Liu, Michael J. Flynn, James R. Dorsey, Sebastian J. O'Shea, Douglas Lowe, Kate Szpek, Franco Marenco, Ben T. Johnson, Stephane Bauguitte, Jim M. Haywood, Joel F. Brito, Paulo Artaxo, Karla M. Longo, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5771–5790, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5771-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5771-2019, 2019
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A novel analysis of aerosol and gas-phase vertical profiles shows a marked regional pollution contrast: composition is driven by the fire regime and vertical distribution is driven by thermodynamics. These drivers ought to be well represented in simulations to ensure realistic prediction of climate and air quality impacts. The BC : CO ratio in haze and plumes increases with altitude – long-range transport or fire stage coupled to plume dynamics may be responsible. Further enquiry is advocated.
James Brooks, James D. Allan, Paul I. Williams, Dantong Liu, Cathryn Fox, Jim Haywood, Justin M. Langridge, Ellie J. Highwood, Sobhan K. Kompalli, Debbie O'Sullivan, Suresh S. Babu, Sreedharan K. Satheesh, Andrew G. Turner, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5615–5634, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5615-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5615-2019, 2019
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Our study, for the first time, presents measurements of aerosol chemical composition and physical characteristics across northern India in the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons of 2016 using the FAAM BAe-146 UK research aircraft. Across northern India, an elevated aerosol layer dominated by sulfate aerosol exists that diminishes with monsoon arrival. The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) boundary layer is dominated by organics, whereas outside the IGP sulfate dominates with increased scattering aerosol.
Jennifer K. Brooke, R. Chawn Harlow, Russell L. Scott, Martin J. Best, John M. Edwards, Jean-Claude Thelen, and Mark Weeks
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1703–1724, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1703-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1703-2019, 2019
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This paper evaluates a significant cold land surface temperature bias in semi-arid regions in the Met Office Unified Model when compared with satellite observations. Sparse vegetation canopies are not well represented in ancillary datasets, in particular regions of cold bias are correlated with low bare soil cover fractions. The study demonstrates the difficulties in modelling land surface temperatures that match state-of-the-art satellite retrievals required for operational data assimilation.
Stuart Fox, Jana Mendrok, Patrick Eriksson, Robin Ekelund, Sebastian J. O'Shea, Keith N. Bower, Anthony J. Baran, R. Chawn Harlow, and Juliet C. Pickering
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1599–1617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1599-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1599-2019, 2019
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Airborne observations of ice clouds are used to validate radiative transfer simulations using a state-of-the-art database of cloud ice optical properties. Simulations at these wavelengths are required to make use of future satellite instruments such as the Ice Cloud Imager. We show that they can generally reproduce observed cloud signals, but for a given total ice mass there is considerable sensitivity to the cloud microphysics, including the particle shape and distribution of ice mass.
Claire L. Ryder, Franco Marenco, Jennifer K. Brooke, Victor Estelles, Richard Cotton, Paola Formenti, James B. McQuaid, Hannah C. Price, Dantong Liu, Patrick Ausset, Phil D. Rosenberg, Jonathan W. Taylor, Tom Choularton, Keith Bower, Hugh Coe, Martin Gallagher, Jonathan Crosier, Gary Lloyd, Eleanor J. Highwood, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17225–17257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17225-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17225-2018, 2018
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Every year, millions of tons of Saharan dust particles are carried across the Atlantic by the wind, where they can affect weather patterns and climate. Their sizes span orders of magnitude, but the largest (over 10 microns – around the width of a human hair) are difficult to measure and few observations exist. Here we show new aircraft observations of large dust particles, finding more than we would expect, and we quantify their properties which allow them to interact with atmospheric radiation.
Gary Lloyd, Thomas W. Choularton, Keith N. Bower, Martin W. Gallagher, Jonathan Crosier, Sebastian O'Shea, Steven J. Abel, Stuart Fox, Richard Cotton, and Ian A. Boutle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17191–17206, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17191-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17191-2018, 2018
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The work deals with cold weather outbreaks at high latitudes that often bring severe weather such as heavy snow, lightning and high winds but are poorly forecast by weather models. Here we made measurements of these events and the clouds associated with them using a research aircraft. We found that the properties of these clouds were often very different to what the models predicted, and these results can potentially be used to bring significant improvement to the forecasting of these events.
Paul I. Palmer, Simon O'Doherty, Grant Allen, Keith Bower, Hartmut Bösch, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Sarah Connors, Sandip Dhomse, Liang Feng, Douglas P. Finch, Martin W. Gallagher, Emanuel Gloor, Siegfried Gonzi, Neil R. P. Harris, Carole Helfter, Neil Humpage, Brian Kerridge, Diane Knappett, Roderic L. Jones, Michael Le Breton, Mark F. Lunt, Alistair J. Manning, Stephan Matthiesen, Jennifer B. A. Muller, Neil Mullinger, Eiko Nemitz, Sebastian O'Shea, Robert J. Parker, Carl J. Percival, Joseph Pitt, Stuart N. Riddick, Matthew Rigby, Harjinder Sembhi, Richard Siddans, Robert L. Skelton, Paul Smith, Hannah Sonderfeld, Kieran Stanley, Ann R. Stavert, Angelina Wenger, Emily White, Christopher Wilson, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11753–11777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, 2018
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This paper provides an overview of the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) experiment. GAUGE was designed to quantify nationwide GHG emissions of the UK, bringing together measurements and atmospheric transport models. This novel experiment is the first of its kind. We anticipate it will inform the blueprint for countries that are building a measurement infrastructure in preparation for global stocktakes, which are a key part of the Paris Agreement.
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.
Konrad Deetz, Heike Vogel, Peter Knippertz, Bianca Adler, Jonathan Taylor, Hugh Coe, Keith Bower, Sophie Haslett, Michael Flynn, James Dorsey, Ian Crawford, Christoph Kottmeier, and Bernhard Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9767–9788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9767-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9767-2018, 2018
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Highly resolved process study simulations for 2–3 July are conducted with COSMO-ART to assess the aerosol direct and indirect effect on meteorological conditions over southern West Africa. The meteorological phenomena of Atlantic inflow and stratus-to-cumulus transition are identified as highly susceptible to the aerosol direct effect, leading to a spatial shift of the Atlantic inflow front and a temporal shift of the stratus-to-cumulus transition with changes in the aerosol amount.
Jamie R. Banks, Kerstin Schepanski, Bernd Heinold, Anja Hünerbein, and Helen E. Brindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9681–9703, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9681-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9681-2018, 2018
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Satellite observations are used to visualize dust storms over the Sahara, and specific infrared channel combinations can highlight dust with distinctive pink colours. Using output from a dust-atmosphere model to simulate satellite imagery, we explore the consequences of particle size, shape, and refractive index for the colour of dust in the imagery. Particles with a radius of ~ 1.5 microns perturb the colour the most and an assumption of spherical dust appears to be insufficient.
Amy K. Hodgson, William T. Morgan, Sebastian O'Shea, Stéphane Bauguitte, James D. Allan, Eoghan Darbyshire, Michael J. Flynn, Dantong Liu, James Lee, Ben Johnson, Jim M. Haywood, Karla M. Longo, Paulo E. Artaxo, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5619–5638, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5619-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5619-2018, 2018
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We flew a large atmospheric research aircraft across a number of different biomass burning environments in the Amazon Basin in September and October 2012. In this paper, we focus on smoke sampled very close to fresh fires (only 600–900 m above the fires and smoke that was 4–6 min old) to examine the chemical components that make up the smoke and their abundance. We found substantial differences in the emitted smoke that are due to the fuel type and combustion processes driving the fires.
Nicholas W. Davies, Michael I. Cotterell, Cathryn Fox, Kate Szpek, Jim M. Haywood, and Justin M. Langridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2313–2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2313-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2313-2018, 2018
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The poorly characterised optical properties of atmospheric aerosols are one of the major uncertainties when modelling future climate change. Photoacoustic spectroscopy is an accurate and sensitive method for measurement of aerosol light absorption. Photoacoustic spectrometers require calibration; hence this study validates the use of ozone as a calibrant and simultaneously verifies the accuracy of the photoacoustic spectrometers in question.
Jake J. Gristey, J. Christine Chiu, Robert J. Gurney, Cyril J. Morcrette, Peter G. Hill, Jacqueline E. Russell, and Helen E. Brindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5129–5145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, 2018
James D. Lee, Stephen D. Mobbs, Axel Wellpott, Grant Allen, Stephane J.-B. Bauguitte, Ralph R. Burton, Richard Camilli, Hugh Coe, Rebecca E. Fisher, James L. France, Martin Gallagher, James R. Hopkins, Mathias Lanoiselle, Alastair C. Lewis, David Lowry, Euan G. Nisbet, Ruth M. Purvis, Sebastian O'Shea, John A. Pyle, and Thomas B. Ryerson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1725–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1725-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1725-2018, 2018
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This work describes measurements, made from an aircraft platform, of the emission of methane and other organic gases from an uncontrolled leak from an oil platform in the North Sea (Total Elgin). The measurements made helped the platform operators to devise a strategy for repairing the leak and serve as a methodology for assessing future similar incidents.
Hazel M. Jones, Gillian Young, Thomas W. Choularton, Keith N. Bower, Thomas Lachlan-Cope, Sebastian O'Shea, James Dorsey, Russell Ladkin, Amelié Kirchgaessner, and Alexandra Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-283, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-283, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
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This paper presents new in-situ aerosol and cloud physics measurements from the Arctic during the summertime ACCACIA campaign. Data from eight flights in the vicinity of Svalbard are presented and compared to data from previous Arctic projects. It is hoped this dataset will be of use to modellers who wish to develop polar cloud parameterisations.
Dantong Liu, Jonathan W. Taylor, Jonathan Crosier, Nicholas Marsden, Keith N. Bower, Gary Lloyd, Claire L. Ryder, Jennifer K. Brooke, Richard Cotton, Franco Marenco, Alan Blyth, Zhiqiang Cui, Victor Estelles, Martin Gallagher, Hugh Coe, and Tom W. Choularton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3817–3838, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3817-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3817-2018, 2018
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This article presents measurements of aerosol properties off the coast of west Africa during August 2015. For the first time, an airborne laser-induced incandescence instrument was deployed to measure the hematite content of dust. The single scattering albedo of dust was found to be influenced by the hematite content, but depended on the dust source and potential dust age. This highlights the importance of size-dependent composition in determining the optical properties of dust.
Manfred Brath, Stuart Fox, Patrick Eriksson, R. Chawn Harlow, Martin Burgdorf, and Stefan A. Buehler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 611–632, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-611-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-611-2018, 2018
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A method to estimate the amounts of ice, liquid water, and water vapor from aircraft radiation measurements at wavelengths just over and under 1 mm is presented and its performance is estimated. The method uses an ensemble of artificial neural networks. It strongly benefits from the submillimeter frequencies reducing the error for the estimated amount of ice by a factor of 2 compared to a traditional microwave method. The method was applied to measurement of a precipitating frontal system.
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.
Ian Crawford, Martin W. Gallagher, Keith N. Bower, Thomas W. Choularton, Michael J. Flynn, Simon Ruske, Constantino Listowski, Neil Brough, Thomas Lachlan-Cope, Zoë L. Fleming, Virginia E. Foot, and Warren R. Stanley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14291–14307, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14291-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14291-2017, 2017
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We present the first real-time detection of bioparticles on the Antarctic continent using a novel UV-LIF technique. The high time resolution of the technique allowed us to examine the relationships between bioparticle concentrations and airmass history and local winds, which would not have been possible with conventional high-volume filter sampling techniques. We also show evidence of episodic long-range transport of pollen from coastal South America to the continent.
Jake Zenker, Kristen N. Collier, Guanglang Xu, Ping Yang, Ezra J. T. Levin, Kaitlyn J. Suski, Paul J. DeMott, and Sarah D. Brooks
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4639–4657, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4639-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4639-2017, 2017
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We have developed a new method which employs single particle depolarization to determine ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations and to differentiate between ice crystals, water droplets, and aerosols. The method is used to interpret measurements collected using the Texas A&M Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (TAMU CFDC) coupled to a Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer with Polarization (CASPOL). This new method extends the range of operating conditions for the CFDC to higher supersaturations.
Sebastian J. O'Shea, Thomas W. Choularton, Michael Flynn, Keith N. Bower, Martin Gallagher, Jonathan Crosier, Paul Williams, Ian Crawford, Zoë L. Fleming, Constantino Listowski, Amélie Kirchgaessner, Russell S. Ladkin, and Thomas Lachlan-Cope
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13049–13070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13049-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13049-2017, 2017
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Few direct measurements have been made of Antarctic cloud and aerosol properties. As part of the 2015 Microphysics of Antarctic Clouds (MAC) field campaign, detailed airborne and ground-based measurements were made over the Weddell Sea and Antarctic coastal continent. This paper presents the first results from this campaign and discusses the cloud properties and processes important in this region.
Min Huang, Gregory R. Carmichael, R. Bradley Pierce, Duseong S. Jo, Rokjin J. Park, Johannes Flemming, Louisa K. Emmons, Kevin W. Bowman, Daven K. Henze, Yanko Davila, Kengo Sudo, Jan Eiof Jonson, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Frank J. Dentener, Terry J. Keating, Hilke Oetjen, and Vivienne H. Payne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5721–5750, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5721-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5721-2017, 2017
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In support of the HTAP phase 2 experiment, we conducted a number of regional-scale Sulfur Transport and dEposition Model base and sensitivity simulations over North America during May–June 2010. The STEM chemical boundary conditions were downscaled from three (GEOS-Chem, RAQMS, and ECMWF C-IFS) global chemical transport models' simulations. Analyses were performed on large spatial–temporal scales relative to HTAP1 and also on subcontinental and event scales including the use of satellite data.
Jamie R. Banks, Helen E. Brindley, Georgiy Stenchikov, and Kerstin Schepanski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3987–4003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3987-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3987-2017, 2017
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From an 11-year analysis of satellite measurements of atmospheric dust presence over the Red Sea, it is clear that there is a strong north–south gradient in dust activity and a pronounced interannual variability in this activity. Analysing two commonly used satellite retrieval methods to quantify dust presence, we find that under the most extreme dust storm conditions the measured dust optical thicknesses can diverge strongly between the two methods.
Stuart Fox, Clare Lee, Brian Moyna, Martin Philipp, Ian Rule, Stuart Rogers, Robert King, Matthew Oldfield, Simon Rea, Manju Henry, Hui Wang, and R. Chawn Harlow
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 477–490, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-477-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-477-2017, 2017
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In this paper we present the ISMAR instrument, a new airborne submillimetre radiometer designed for cloud ice remote sensing. We discuss the instrument calibration and evaluate the main sources of bias and the radiometric sensitivity in different measurement scenarios. We also compare clear-sky zenith measurements from high altitude with radiative transfer simulations to demonstrate the performance of ISMAR in flight.
Tom Lachlan-Cope, Constantino Listowski, and Sebastian O'Shea
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15605–15617, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15605-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15605-2016, 2016
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The paper presents observations of clouds over the Antarctic Peninsula (a 2500 m high barrier separating the Weddell and Bellingshausen seas) during summer 2010 and 2011. The observations of ice and liquid particles in the clouds reveal that more particles were seen during 2011 and that this is associated with an air mass that has spent longer close to the sea ice surface. This suggests that sea ice is a source of cloud nuclei.
Gillian Young, Hazel M. Jones, Thomas W. Choularton, Jonathan Crosier, Keith N. Bower, Martin W. Gallagher, Rhiannon S. Davies, Ian A. Renfrew, Andrew D. Elvidge, Eoghan Darbyshire, Franco Marenco, Philip R. A. Brown, Hugo M. A. Ricketts, Paul J. Connolly, Gary Lloyd, Paul I. Williams, James D. Allan, Jonathan W. Taylor, Dantong Liu, and Michael J. Flynn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13945–13967, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13945-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13945-2016, 2016
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Clouds are intricately coupled to the Arctic sea ice. Our inability to accurately model cloud fractions causes large uncertainties in predicted radiative interactions in this region, therefore, affecting sea ice forecasts. Here, we present measurements of cloud microphysics, aerosol properties, and thermodynamic structure over the transition from sea ice to ocean to improve our understanding of the relationship between the Arctic atmosphere and clouds which develop in this region.
Hilke Oetjen, Vivienne H. Payne, Jessica L. Neu, Susan S. Kulawik, David P. Edwards, Annmarie Eldering, Helen M. Worden, and John R. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10229–10239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10229-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10229-2016, 2016
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We developed and tested a strategy for combining TES and IASI free-tropospheric ozone data. A time series of the merged ozone data is presented for regional monthly means over the western US, Europe, and eastern Asia. We show that free-tropospheric ozone over Europe and the western US has remained relatively constant over the past decade but that, contrary to expectations, ozone over Asia in recent years does not continue the rapid rate of increase observed from 2004–2010.
Souichiro Hioki, Ping Yang, Bryan A. Baum, Steven Platnick, Kerry G. Meyer, Michael D. King, and Jerome Riedi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7545–7558, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7545-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7545-2016, 2016
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The degree of surface roughness of ice particles within thick, cold ice clouds is inferred from multi-directional, multi-spectral satellite polarimetric observations over oceans, assuming a column-aggregate particle habit. An improved roughness inference scheme is employed, which provides a more noise-resilient roughness estimate than the conventional approach. A global one-month data sample shows the use and the limit of a severely roughened ice habit to simulate the polarized reflectivity.
Robert E. Holz, Steven Platnick, Kerry Meyer, Mark Vaughan, Andrew Heidinger, Ping Yang, Gala Wind, Steven Dutcher, Steven Ackerman, Nandana Amarasinghe, Fredrick Nagle, and Chenxi Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5075–5090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5075-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5075-2016, 2016
Robert J. Farrington, Paul J. Connolly, Gary Lloyd, Keith N. Bower, Michael J. Flynn, Martin W. Gallagher, Paul R. Field, Chris Dearden, and Thomas W. Choularton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4945–4966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4945-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4945-2016, 2016
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This paper assesses the reasons for high ice number concentrations observed in orographic clouds by comparing observations with model simulations over Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. The results suggest that ice nuclei do not significantly contribute to the high concentrations and that a surface source of ice crystals is responsible for the witnessed ice number concentrations.
G. Young, H. M. Jones, E. Darbyshire, K. J. Baustian, J. B. McQuaid, K. N. Bower, P. J. Connolly, M. W. Gallagher, and T. W. Choularton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4063–4079, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4063-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4063-2016, 2016
John H. Marsham, Douglas J. Parker, Martin C. Todd, Jamie R. Banks, Helen E. Brindley, Luis Garcia-Carreras, Alexander J. Roberts, and Claire L. Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3563–3575, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3563-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3563-2016, 2016
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The roles of water, clouds and airborne dust in controlling the heating of the Sahara are uncertain, which has major implications for the West African monsoon. Observations from the Fennec project, with satellite data, show that total atmospheric water content provides a far stronger control on total radiative heating than dust does, but dust provides the stronger control on surface heating. Therefore major heating errors in global models are likely due to known errors in water transport.
I. Crawford, G. Lloyd, E. Herrmann, C. R. Hoyle, K. N. Bower, P. J. Connolly, M. J. Flynn, P. H. Kaye, T. W. Choularton, and M. W. Gallagher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2273–2284, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2273-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2273-2016, 2016
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In this manuscript we discuss observations of fluorescent aerosol and their interactions with cloud at a high-alpine site in the wintertime under background conditions. We find the majority of the fluorescent aerosol to be consistent in nature to mineral dust and no apparent trend was observed between the fluorescent aerosol fraction and meteorological or cloud microphysical parameters, suggesting that particle fluorescence does not impact cloud evolution or formation at the site.
J. W. Taylor, T. W. Choularton, A. M. Blyth, Z. Liu, K. N. Bower, J. Crosier, M. W. Gallagher, P. I. Williams, J. R. Dorsey, M. J. Flynn, L. J. Bennett, Y. Huang, J. French, A. Korolev, and P. R. A. Brown
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 799–826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-799-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-799-2016, 2016
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We present microphysical observations of cumulus clouds measured over south-west England during COPE in summer 2013. Detailed sampling focused on an isolated liquid cloud that glaciated as it matured to merge with a band of cloud downwind. The first ice particles observed were frozen drizzle, while columnar ice dominated in the mature stages. We discuss the interactions between the warm rain and secondary ice processes, and their importance for the formation of precipitation.
J. R. Pitt, M. Le Breton, G. Allen, C. J. Percival, M. W. Gallagher, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, S. J. O'Shea, J. B. A. Muller, M. S. Zahniser, J. Pyle, and P. I. Palmer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 63–77, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-63-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-63-2016, 2016
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We present details of an Aerodyne quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) used to make airborne measurements of N2O and CH4, including its configuration for use on board an aircraft. Two different methods to correct for the influence of water vapour on the measurements are evaluated. We diagnose a sensitivity of the instrument to changes in pressure, introduce a new calibration procedure to account for this effect, and assess its performance.
G. Lloyd, T. W. Choularton, K. N. Bower, M. W. Gallagher, P. J. Connolly, M. Flynn, R. Farrington, J. Crosier, O. Schlenczek, J. Fugal, and J. Henneberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12953–12969, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12953-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12953-2015, 2015
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The paper explores the microphysical structure of clouds at the high-alpine measurement site Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. High concentrations of ice crystals were measured by a range of instruments. The presence of these high concentrations could not be explained through conventional understanding of ice formation processes in clouds and the possibility that the surface provides a significant source of ice crystals is investigated.
D. Liu, B. Quennehen, E. Darbyshire, J. D. Allan, P. I. Williams, J. W. Taylor, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, M. J. Flynn, D. Lowe, M. W. Gallagher, K. N. Bower, T. W. Choularton, and H. Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11537–11555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11537-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11537-2015, 2015
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We show that during the springtime of 2013, the anthropogenic pollution particularly from sources in Asia, contributed significantly to black carbon across the European Arctic free troposphere. In contrast to previous studies, the contribution from open wildfires was minimal. Given that Asian pollution is likely to continue to rise over the coming years, it is likely that the radiative forcing in the Arctic will also continue to increase.
S. Osipov, G. Stenchikov, H. Brindley, and J. Banks
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9537–9553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9537-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9537-2015, 2015
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The radiative effect of dust over the Arabian Peninsula for different surfaces and for a range of optical depths is calculated and tested using satellite and ground-based observations.
C. L. Ryder, J. B. McQuaid, C. Flamant, P. D. Rosenberg, R. Washington, H. E. Brindley, E. J. Highwood, J. H. Marsham, D. J. Parker, M. C. Todd, J. R. Banks, J. K. Brooke, S. Engelstaedter, V. Estelles, P. Formenti, L. Garcia-Carreras, C. Kocha, F. Marenco, H. Sodemann, C. J. T. Allen, A. Bourdon, M. Bart, C. Cavazos-Guerra, S. Chevaillier, J. Crosier, E. Darbyshire, A. R. Dean, J. R. Dorsey, J. Kent, D. O'Sullivan, K. Schepanski, K. Szpek, J. Trembath, and A. Woolley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8479–8520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8479-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8479-2015, 2015
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Measurements of the Saharan atmosphere and of atmospheric mineral dust are lacking but are vital to our understanding of the climate of this region and their impacts further afield. Novel observations were made by the Fennec climate programme during June 2011 and 2012 using ground-based, remote sensing and airborne platforms. Here we describe the airborne observations and the contributions they have made to furthering our understanding of the Saharan climate system.
G. Lloyd, T. W. Choularton, K. N. Bower, J. Crosier, H. Jones, J. R. Dorsey, M. W. Gallagher, P. Connolly, A. C. R. Kirchgaessner, and T. Lachlan-Cope
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3719–3737, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3719-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3719-2015, 2015
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Measurements of cloud microphysics are reported from the Aerosol-Cloud Coupling And Climate Interactions (ACCACIA) campaign. Concentrations of ice particles from two spring and two summer cases are compared with particular attention to the role of secondary ice in these clouds. In addition aerosol measurements were used as input to a primary ice nucleation parameterisation which was compared with observed values of primary ice in these clouds. We found higher concentrations of ice during summer.
M. D. Jolleys, H. Coe, G. McFiggans, J. W. Taylor, S. J. O'Shea, M. Le Breton, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, S. Moller, P. Di Carlo, E. Aruffo, P. I. Palmer, J. D. Lee, C. J. Percival, and M. W. Gallagher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3077–3095, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3077-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3077-2015, 2015
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Particulate emissions in the form of organic aerosol from boreal forest fires in Canada have been measured during an aircraft measurement campaign. Ratios of the amount of aerosol emitted relative to gas species such as CO were calculated and show high levels of variability throughout the campaign. This variability is affected by both changes in fire conditions, as fires tended to die down later in the measurement period, and by changes to the aerosol due to chemical reactions in the atmosphere.
C. Liu, P. Yang, P. Minnis, N. Loeb, S. Kato, A. Heymsfield, and C. Schmitt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13719–13737, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13719-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13719-2014, 2014
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An ice cloud model is developed by assuming an ice cloud to be an ensemble of columns and aggregates with specific habit fractions at each particle size bin. The microphysical and optical properties of this two-habit model (THM) are compared with both laboratory and in situ measurements. When the THM is applied to ice cloud property retrieval, excellent spectral consistency is achieved. A comparison between observed and theoretical polarized reflectivities illustrates the applicability of THM.
G. Allen, S. M. Illingworth, S. J. O'Shea, S. Newman, A. Vance, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, F. Marenco, J. Kent, K. Bower, M. W. Gallagher, J. Muller, C. J. Percival, C. Harlow, J. Lee, and J. P. Taylor
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 4401–4416, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4401-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4401-2014, 2014
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This paper presents a validated method and data set for new retrievals of trace gas concentrations and temperature from the ARIES infrared spectrometer instrument on the UK Atmospheric Research Aircraft (www.faam.ac.uk). This new capability for the aircraft will allow new science to be done because of the way it can sense information about the atmosphere without having to physically pass through it (remote sensing). This will allow us to better understand the make-up of the lower atmosphere.
S. J. O'Shea, G. Allen, M. W. Gallagher, K. Bower, S. M. Illingworth, J. B. A. Muller, B. T. Jones, C. J. Percival, S. J-B. Bauguitte, M. Cain, N. Warwick, A. Quiquet, U. Skiba, J. Drewer, K. Dinsmore, E. G. Nisbet, D. Lowry, R. E. Fisher, J. L. France, M. Aurela, A. Lohila, G. Hayman, C. George, D. B. Clark, A. J. Manning, A. D. Friend, and J. Pyle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13159–13174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, 2014
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This paper presents airborne measurements of greenhouse gases collected in the European Arctic. Regional scale flux estimates for the northern Scandinavian wetlands are derived. These fluxes are found to be in excellent agreement with coincident surface measurements within the aircraft's sampling domain. This has allowed a significant low bias to be identified in two commonly used process-based land surface models.
H. Oetjen, V. H. Payne, S. S. Kulawik, A. Eldering, J. Worden, D. P. Edwards, G. L. Francis, H. M. Worden, C. Clerbaux, J. Hadji-Lazaro, and D. Hurtmans
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 4223–4236, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4223-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4223-2014, 2014
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We apply the TES ozone retrieval algorithm to IASI radiances and characterise the uncertainties and information content of the retrieved ozone profiles. We find that our biases with respect to sondes and our degrees of freedom for signal for ozone are comparable to previously published results from other IASI ozone algorithms. We find that predicted and empirical errors are consistent. In general, the precision of the IASI ozone profiles is better than 20%.
U. Hamann, A. Walther, B. Baum, R. Bennartz, L. Bugliaro, M. Derrien, P. N. Francis, A. Heidinger, S. Joro, A. Kniffka, H. Le Gléau, M. Lockhoff, H.-J. Lutz, J. F. Meirink, P. Minnis, R. Palikonda, R. Roebeling, A. Thoss, S. Platnick, P. Watts, and G. Wind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2839–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2839-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2839-2014, 2014
C. Knote, A. Hodzic, J. L. Jimenez, R. Volkamer, J. J. Orlando, S. Baidar, J. Brioude, J. Fast, D. R. Gentner, A. H. Goldstein, P. L. Hayes, W. B. Knighton, H. Oetjen, A. Setyan, H. Stark, R. Thalman, G. Tyndall, R. Washenfelder, E. Waxman, and Q. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6213–6239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6213-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6213-2014, 2014
B. H. Cole, P. Yang, B. A. Baum, J. Riedi, and L. C.-Labonnote
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3739–3750, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3739-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3739-2014, 2014
S. J. O'Shea, G. Allen, M. W. Gallagher, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, S. M. Illingworth, M. Le Breton, J. B. A. Muller, C. J. Percival, A. T. Archibald, D. E. Oram, M. Parrington, P. I. Palmer, and A. C. Lewis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12451–12467, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12451-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12451-2013, 2013
M. Le Breton, A. Bacak, J. B. A. Muller, S. J. O'Shea, P. Xiao, M. N. R. Ashfold, M. C. Cooke, R. Batt, D. E. Shallcross, D. E. Oram, G. Forster, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, P. I. Palmer, M. Parrington, A. C. Lewis, J. D. Lee, and C. J. Percival
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9217–9232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9217-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9217-2013, 2013
P. I. Palmer, M. Parrington, J. D. Lee, A. C. Lewis, A. R. Rickard, P. F. Bernath, T. J. Duck, D. L. Waugh, D. W. Tarasick, S. Andrews, E. Aruffo, L. J. Bailey, E. Barrett, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, K. R. Curry, P. Di Carlo, L. Chisholm, L. Dan, G. Forster, J. E. Franklin, M. D. Gibson, D. Griffin, D. Helmig, J. R. Hopkins, J. T. Hopper, M. E. Jenkin, D. Kindred, J. Kliever, M. Le Breton, S. Matthiesen, M. Maurice, S. Moller, D. P. Moore, D. E. Oram, S. J. O'Shea, R. C. Owen, C. M. L. S. Pagniello, S. Pawson, C. J. Percival, J. R. Pierce, S. Punjabi, R. M. Purvis, J. J. Remedios, K. M. Rotermund, K. M. Sakamoto, A. M. da Silva, K. B. Strawbridge, K. Strong, J. Taylor, R. Trigwell, K. A. Tereszchuk, K. A. Walker, D. Weaver, C. Whaley, and J. C. Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6239–6261, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6239-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6239-2013, 2013
S. J. O'Shea, S. J.-B. Bauguitte, M. W. Gallagher, D. Lowry, and C. J. Percival
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1095–1109, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1095-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1095-2013, 2013
S. Baidar, H. Oetjen, S. Coburn, B. Dix, I. Ortega, R. Sinreich, and R. Volkamer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 719–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-719-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-719-2013, 2013
C. L. Ryder, E. J. Highwood, P. D. Rosenberg, J. Trembath, J. K. Brooke, M. Bart, A. Dean, J. Crosier, J. Dorsey, H. Brindley, J. Banks, J. H. Marsham, J. B. McQuaid, H. Sodemann, and R. Washington
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 303–325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-303-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-303-2013, 2013
N. J. King, K. N. Bower, J. Crosier, and I. Crawford
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 191–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-191-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-191-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Radiation | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Mechanisms of surface solar irradiance variability under broken clouds
Fine and coarse dust radiative impact during an intense Saharan dust outbreak over the Iberian Peninsula – short-wave direct radiative effect
Modeling actinic flux and photolysis frequencies in dense biomass burning plumes
Regional modeling of surface solar radiation, aerosol, and cloud cover spatial variability and projections over northern France and Benelux
A numerical sensitivity study on the snow-darkening effect by black carbon deposition over the Arctic in spring
Improved calculation of single-scattering properties of frozen droplets and frozen-droplet aggregates observed in deep convective clouds
Influence of cloudy and clear-sky partitions, aerosols, and geometry on the recent variability in surface solar irradiance components in northern France
Saharan dust impact on radiative heating rate errors inherent in reanalysis data in the African easterly wave development region
The Modulation of Synoptic Weather Patterns and Human Activities on the Diurnal Cycle of Summertime Canopy Urban Heat Island in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China
Combining observations and simulations to investigate the small-scale variability of surface solar irradiance under continental cumulus clouds
The impact of coupled 3D shortwave radiative transfer on surface radiation and cumulus clouds over land
Atmospheric cloud-radiative heating in CMIP6 and observations and its response to surface warming
Responses of polar energy budget to regional SST changes in extra-polar regions
Trends in observed surface solar radiation and their causes in Brazil in the first 2 decades of the 21st century
A sensitivity study on radiative effects due to the parameterization of dust optical properties in models
Uncertainties in cloud-radiative heating within an idealized extratropical cyclone
Evaluation of downward and upward solar irradiances simulated by the Integrated Forecasting System of ECMWF using airborne observations above Arctic low-level clouds
A colorful look at climate sensitivity
Sensitivity of cirrus and contrail radiative effect on cloud microphysical and environmental parameters
Evaluation of liquid cloud albedo susceptibility in E3SM using coupled eastern North Atlantic surface and satellite retrievals
Constraints on simulated past Arctic amplification and lapse rate feedback from observations
Comparison of methods to estimate aerosol effective radiative forcings in climate models
Montreal Protocol's impact on the ozone layer and climate
Opinion: The scientific and community-building roles of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) – past, present, and future
Impacts of reductions in non-methane short-lived climate forcers on future climate extremes and the resulting population exposure risks in eastern and southern Asia
Investigating the radiative effect of Arctic cirrus measured in situ during the winter 2015–2016
Dependence of strategic solar climate intervention on background scenario and model physics
Combining short-range dispersion simulations with fine-scale meteorological ensembles: probabilistic indicators and evaluation during a 85Kr field campaign
Climate consequences of hydrogen emissions
Investigating the impact of Saharan dust aerosols on analyses and forecasts of African easterly waves by constraining aerosol effects in radiance data assimilation
Distinct surface response to black carbon aerosols
Estimating the potential cooling effect of cirrus thinning achieved via the seeding approach
Impacts of multi-layer overlap on contrail radiative forcing
Bias in CMIP6 models as compared to observed regional dimming and brightening
The incorporation of the Tripleclouds concept into the δ-Eddington two-stream radiation scheme: solver characterization and its application to shallow cumulus clouds
Radiative heating rate profiles over the southeast Atlantic Ocean during the 2016 and 2017 biomass burning seasons
Effective radiative forcing and adjustments in CMIP6 models
Response of surface shortwave cloud radiative effect to greenhouse gases and aerosols and its impact on summer maximum temperature
Combining atmospheric and snow radiative transfer models to assess the solar radiative effects of black carbon in the Arctic
Accurate 3-D radiative transfer simulation of spectral solar irradiance during the total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017
Quantifying the bias of radiative heating rates in numerical weather prediction models for shallow cumulus clouds
The climate effects of increasing ocean albedo: an idealized representation of solar geoengineering
Changes in clouds and thermodynamics under solar geoengineering and implications for required solar reduction
Radiative impact of an extreme Arctic biomass-burning event
Contrails and their impact on shortwave radiation and photovoltaic power production – a regional model study
The influence of internal variability on Earth's energy balance framework and implications for estimating climate sensitivity
Insights into the diurnal cycle of global Earth outgoing radiation using a numerical weather prediction model
Determining the infrared radiative effects of Saharan dust: a radiative transfer modelling study based on vertically resolved measurements at Lampedusa
The early summertime Saharan heat low: sensitivity of the radiation budget and atmospheric heating to water vapour and dust aerosol
The role of 1-D and 3-D radiative heating in the organization of shallow cumulus convection and the formation of cloud streets
Wouter Mol and Chiel van Heerwaarden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4419–4441, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4419-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4419-2025, 2025
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Sunlight varies often and quickly under broken cloud cover, and every cloud field creates a unique pattern of sunlight on the surface below. These variations affect many processes in the Earth system, from photosynthesis and chemistry to cloud formation itself. The exact way in which cloud particles interact with sunlight is complex and expensive to calculate. We demonstrate a simplified framework which explains how sunlight changes for potentially any cloud field.
María-Ángeles López-Cayuela, Carmen Córdoba-Jabonero, Michaël Sicard, Jesús Abril-Gago, Vanda Salgueiro, Adolfo Comerón, María José Granados-Muñoz, Maria João Costa, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Daniele Bortoli, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, and Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3213–3231, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3213-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3213-2025, 2025
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Due to the significant radiative role of dust in climate change, vertical assessments of the short-wave dust direct radiative effect of both fine and coarse dust particles are performed separately. The study is focused on an intense Saharan dust outbreak crossing the Iberian Peninsula in springtime monitored by five Iberian lidar stations with southwest–northeast coverage. A comparative study to evaluate the differences found by considering the total dust (no separation) is also examined.
Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, Santo Fedele Colosimo, Nathaniel Brockway, Robert Spurr, Matt Christi, Samuel Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Johnathan Hair, Taylor Shingler, Rodney Weber, Jack Dibb, Richard Moore, Elizabeth Wiggins, Vijay Natraj, Nicolas Theys, and Jochen Stutz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1989–2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1989-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1989-2025, 2025
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We combine plume composition data from the 2019 NASA FIREX-AQ campaign with state-of-the-art radiative transfer modeling techniques to calculate distributions of actinic flux and photolysis frequencies in a wildfire plume. Excellent agreement of the model and observations demonstrates the applicability of this approach to constrain photochemistry in such plumes. We identify limiting factors for the modeling accuracy and discuss spatial and spectral features of the distributions.
Gabriel Chesnoiu, Isabelle Chiapello, Nicolas Ferlay, Pierre Nabat, Marc Mallet, and Véronique Riffault
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1307–1331, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1307-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1307-2025, 2025
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The ALADIN regional climate model at 12.5 km resolution allows us to study the evolution of surface solar radiation (SSR) and key associated atmospheric parameters. Over northern France and Benelux, influenced by anthropogenic aerosols and cloudy conditions, regional evaluation of recent hindcast simulations shows satisfying results and high spatial variability. Future SSR evolution by the end of the century for two contrasting CMIP6 scenarios highlights large decreases in SSR for SSP3-7.0.
Zilu Zhang, Libo Zhou, and Meigen Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1–25, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025, 2025
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By integrating the SNICAR model with Polar-WRF, we find that 50 ng g−1 black carbon (BC) deposition decreases snow albedo, increasing radiative forcing (RF) by 1–4 W m−2, especially in Greenland, Baffin Island, and eastern Siberia. The impact is strongly linked to BC mass, with deep snowpacks showing greater sensitivity. Snowmelt and land–atmosphere interactions are crucial. High-resolution modelling is necessary to better understand these effects on Arctic climate change.
Jeonggyu Kim, Sungmin Park, Greg M. McFarquhar, Anthony J. Baran, Joo Wan Cha, Kyoungmi Lee, Seoung Soo Lee, Chang Hoon Jung, Kyo-Sun Sunny Lim, and Junshik Um
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12707–12726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12707-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12707-2024, 2024
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We developed idealized models to represent the shapes of ice particles found in deep convective clouds and calculated their single-scattering properties. By comparing these results with in situ measurements, we discovered that a mixture of shape models matches in situ measurements more closely than single-form models or aggregate models. This finding has important implications for enhancing the simulation of single-scattering properties of ice crystals in deep convective clouds.
Gabriel Chesnoiu, Nicolas Ferlay, Isabelle Chiapello, Frédérique Auriol, Diane Catalfamo, Mathieu Compiègne, Thierry Elias, and Isabelle Jankowiak
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12375–12407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12375-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12375-2024, 2024
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The measured ground-based surface solar irradiance variability and its sensitivity to scene parameters are analysed with a filtering of sky conditions at a given site. Its multivariate analysis is applied to observed trends over 2010–2022. The recorded values show, in addition to the dominant effects of cloud occurrence, the variable effects of aerosol and geometry. Clear-sun-with-cloud situations are highlighted by SSI levels close to those of aerosol- and cloud-free situations.
Ruby W. Burgess and Mayra I. Oyola-Merced
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12183–12201, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12183-2024, 2024
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This study explores how aerosols affect atmospheric heating over African easterly waves (AEWs). Using data from NASA's aircraft and outputs of reanalysis models, the research focuses on days with both Saharan dust and AEWs. Using a radiative transfer model, the study reveals significant differences in heating rates, emphasizing challenges in accurately representing aerosol effects in the atmosphere and underscoring the need for improved aerosol representation in weather models.
Tao Shi, Yuanjian Yang, Lian Zong, Min Guo, Ping Qi, and Simone Lolli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3111, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3111, 2024
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Our study explored the daily temperature patterns in urban areas of the Yangtze River Delta, focusing on how weather and human activities impact these patterns. We found that temperatures were higher at night, and weather patterns had a bigger impact during the day, while human activities mattered more at night. This helps us understand and address urban overheating.
Zili He, Quentin Libois, Najda Villefranque, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, and Fleur Couvreux
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11391–11408, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, 2024
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This study uses observations and simulations to analyze how cumulus clouds affect spacial solar radiation variability on the ground. Results show that the simulations reproduce the observations well and improve understanding of cloud impacts on radiation. The research also indicates that a few strategically placed sensors, capitalizing on measurement timing, can effectively measure these variations, aiding in the development of detailed weather prediction models.
Mirjam Tijhuis, Bart J. H. van Stratum, and Chiel C. van Heerwaarden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10567–10582, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10567-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10567-2024, 2024
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Radiative transfer in the atmosphere is a 3D processes, which is often modelled in 1D for computational efficiency. We studied the differences between using 1D and 3D radiative transfer. With 3D radiation, larger clouds that contain more liquid water develop. However, they cover roughly the same part of the sky, and the average total radiation at the surface is nearly unchanged. The increase in cloud size might be important for weather models, as it can impact the formation of rain, for example.
Aiko Voigt, Stefanie North, Blaž Gasparini, and Seung-Hee Ham
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9749–9775, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9749-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9749-2024, 2024
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Clouds shape weather and climate by interacting with photons, which changes temperatures within the atmosphere. We assess how well CMIP6 climate models capture this radiative heating by clouds within the atmosphere. While we find large differences among models, especially in cold regions of the atmosphere with abundant ice clouds, we also demonstrate that physical understanding allows us to predict the response of clouds and their radiative heating near the tropopause to climate change.
Qingmin Wang, Yincheng Liu, Lujun Zhang, and Chen Zhou
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2379, 2024
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Our research explores how SST changes in non-polar regions impact the polar energy budget. Through idealized SST experiments, we found that warming in tropical and midlatitude oceans raises polar temperatures via enhanced atmospheric energy transport, leading to surface warming and top-of-atmosphere cooling in polar areas. This study highlights the distinct impacts of tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean SST changes on Arctic and Antarctic climates.
Lucas Ferreira Correa, Doris Folini, Boriana Chtirkova, and Martin Wild
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8797–8819, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8797-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8797-2024, 2024
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We investigated the causes of the decadal trends of solar radiation measured at 34 stations in Brazil in the first 2 decades of the 21st century. We observed strong negative trends in north and northeast Brazil associated with changes in both atmospheric absorption (anthropogenic) and cloud cover (natural). In other parts of the country no strong trends were observed as a result of competing effects. This provides a better understanding of the energy balance in the region.
Ilias Fountoulakis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, Angelos Nersesian, Maria Tsichla, Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Vasileios Barlakas, Claudia Emde, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4915–4948, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, 2024
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In our study we provide an assessment, through a sensitivity study, of the limitations of models to calculate the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) due to the underrepresentation of its size, refractive index (RI), and shape. Our results indicate the necessity of including more realistic sizes and RIs for dust particles in dust models, in order to derive better estimations of the dust direct radiative effects.
Behrooz Keshtgar, Aiko Voigt, Bernhard Mayer, and Corinna Hoose
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4751–4769, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4751-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4751-2024, 2024
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Cloud-radiative heating (CRH) affects extratropical cyclones but is uncertain in weather and climate models. We provide a framework to quantify uncertainties in CRH within an extratropical cyclone due to four factors and show that the parameterization of ice optical properties contributes significantly to uncertainty in CRH. We also argue that ice optical properties, by affecting CRH on spatial scales of 100 km, are relevant for the large-scale dynamics of extratropical cyclones.
Hanno Müller, André Ehrlich, Evelyn Jäkel, Johannes Röttenbacher, Benjamin Kirbus, Michael Schäfer, Robin J. Hogan, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4157–4175, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4157-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4157-2024, 2024
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A weather model is used to compare solar radiation with measurements from an aircraft campaign in the Arctic. Model and observations agree on the downward radiation but show differences in the radiation reflected by the surface and the clouds, which in the model is too low above sea ice and too high above open ocean. The model–observation bias is reduced above open ocean by a realistic fraction of clouds and less cloud liquid water and above sea ice by less dark sea ice and more cloud droplets.
Bjorn Stevens and Lukas Kluft
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14673–14689, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14673-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14673-2023, 2023
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A simple model is introduced to account for the spectral diversity of radiant energy transfer. It provides an improved basis for assessing the different ways in which clouds influence Earth’s climate sensitivity, demonstrating how many cloud effects depend on the existing cloud climatology. Given existing assessments of changes in cloud albedo with warming, it is determined that clouds reduce Earth's climate sensitivity as compared to what it would be in a counterfactual world without clouds.
Kevin Wolf, Nicolas Bellouin, and Olivier Boucher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14003–14037, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14003-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14003-2023, 2023
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Cirrus and contrails considerably impact Earth's energy budget. Such ice clouds can have a positive (warming) or negative (cooling) net radiative effect (RE), which depends on cloud and ambient properties. The effect of eight parameters on the cloud RE is estimated. In total, 283 500 radiative transfer simulations have been performed, spanning the typical parameter ranges associated with cirrus and contrails. Specific cases are selected and discussed. The data set is publicly available.
Adam C. Varble, Po-Lun Ma, Matthew W. Christensen, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Shuaiqi Tang, and Jerome Fast
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13523–13553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13523-2023, 2023
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We evaluate how clouds change in response to changing atmospheric particle (aerosol) concentrations in a climate model and find that the model-predicted cloud brightness increases too much as aerosols increase because the cloud drop number increases too much. Excessive drizzle in the model mutes this difference. Many differences between observational and model estimates are explained by varying assumptions of how much liquid has been lost in clouds, which impacts the estimated cloud drop number.
Olivia Linke, Johannes Quaas, Finja Baumer, Sebastian Becker, Jan Chylik, Sandro Dahlke, André Ehrlich, Dörthe Handorf, Christoph Jacobi, Heike Kalesse-Los, Luca Lelli, Sina Mehrdad, Roel A. J. Neggers, Johannes Riebold, Pablo Saavedra Garfias, Niklas Schnierstein, Matthew D. Shupe, Chris Smith, Gunnar Spreen, Baptiste Verneuil, Kameswara S. Vinjamuri, Marco Vountas, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9963–9992, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9963-2023, 2023
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Lapse rate feedback (LRF) is a major driver of the Arctic amplification (AA) of climate change. It arises because the warming is stronger at the surface than aloft. Several processes can affect the LRF in the Arctic, such as the omnipresent temperature inversion. Here, we compare multimodel climate simulations to Arctic-based observations from a large research consortium to broaden our understanding of these processes, find synergy among them, and constrain the Arctic LRF and AA.
Mark D. Zelinka, Christopher J. Smith, Yi Qin, and Karl E. Taylor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8879–8898, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8879-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8879-2023, 2023
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The primary uncertainty in how strongly Earth's climate has been perturbed by human activities comes from the unknown radiative impact of aerosol changes. Accurately quantifying these forcings – and their sub-components – in climate models is crucial for understanding the past and future simulated climate. In this study we describe biases in previously published estimates of aerosol radiative forcing in climate models and provide corrected estimates along with code for users to compute them.
Tatiana Egorova, Jan Sedlacek, Timofei Sukhodolov, Arseniy Karagodin-Doyennel, Franziska Zilker, and Eugene Rozanov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5135–5147, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5135-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5135-2023, 2023
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This paper describes the climate and atmosphere benefits of the Montreal Protocol, simulated with the state-of-the-art Earth system model SOCOLv4.0. We have added to and confirmed the previous studies by showing that without the Montreal Protocol by the end of the 21st century there would be a dramatic reduction in the ozone layer as well as substantial perturbation of the essential climate variables in the troposphere caused by the warming from increasing ozone-depleting substances.
Daniele Visioni, Ben Kravitz, Alan Robock, Simone Tilmes, Jim Haywood, Olivier Boucher, Mark Lawrence, Peter Irvine, Ulrike Niemeier, Lili Xia, Gabriel Chiodo, Chris Lennard, Shingo Watanabe, John C. Moore, and Helene Muri
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5149–5176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5149-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5149-2023, 2023
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Geoengineering indicates methods aiming to reduce the temperature of the planet by means of reflecting back a part of the incoming radiation before it reaches the surface or allowing more of the planetary radiation to escape into space. It aims to produce modelling experiments that are easy to reproduce and compare with different climate models, in order to understand the potential impacts of these techniques. Here we assess its past successes and failures and talk about its future.
Yingfang Li, Zhili Wang, Yadong Lei, Huizheng Che, and Xiaoye Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2499–2523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2499-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2499-2023, 2023
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Since few studies have assessed the impacts of future combined reductions in aerosols, ozone, and their precursors on future climate change, we use models with an interactive representation of tropospheric aerosols and atmospheric chemistry schemes to quantify the impact of their reductions on the Asian climate. Our results suggest that their reductions will exacerbate the warming effect caused by greenhouse gases, increasing future climate extremes and associated population exposure risk.
Andreas Marsing, Ralf Meerkötter, Romy Heller, Stefan Kaufmann, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 587–609, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-587-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-587-2023, 2023
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We employ highly resolved aircraft measurements of profiles of the ice water content (IWC) in Arctic cirrus clouds in winter and spring, when solar irradiation is low. Using radiation transfer calculations, we assess the cloud radiative effect over different surfaces like snow or ocean. The variability in the IWC of the clouds affects their overall radiative effect and drives internal processes. This helps understand the role of cirrus in a rapidly changing Arctic environment.
John T. Fasullo and Jadwiga H. Richter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 163–182, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-163-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-163-2023, 2023
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The continued high levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions increase the likelihood that key climate warming thresholds will be exceeded in the coming decades. Here we examine a recently proposed geoengineering approach using two recently produced climate model experiments. We find the associated latitudinal distribution of aerosol mass to exhibit substantial uncertainty, suggesting the need for significant flexibility in the location and amount of aerosol delivery, if implemented.
Youness El-Ouartassy, Irène Korsakissok, Matthieu Plu, Olivier Connan, Laurent Descamps, and Laure Raynaud
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15793–15816, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15793-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15793-2022, 2022
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This work investigates the potential value of using fine-scale meteorological ensembles to represent the inherent meteorological uncertainties in atmospheric dispersion model outputs. Probabilistic scores were used to evaluate the probabilistic performance of dispersion ensembles, using an original dataset of new continuous 85Kr air concentration measurements and a well-known source term. The results show that the ensemble dispersion simulations perform better than deterministic ones.
Ilissa B. Ocko and Steven P. Hamburg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9349–9368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9349-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9349-2022, 2022
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Hydrogen is considered a key strategy to decarbonize the global economy. However, hydrogen is also a short-lived indirect greenhouse gas that can easily leak into the atmosphere. Given that the climate impacts from hydrogen emissions are not well understood, especially in the near term, we assess impacts over all timescales for plausible emissions rates. We find that hydrogen leakage can cause more warming than widely perceived; thus, attention is needed to minimize emissions.
Dustin Francis Phillip Grogan, Cheng-Hsuan Lu, Shih-Wei Wei, and Sheng-Po Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2385–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2385-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2385-2022, 2022
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This study shows that incorporating aerosols into satellite radiance calculations affects the representation of African easterly waves (AEWs), and their environment, over North Africa and the eastern Atlantic in a numerical weather model. These changes are driven by radiative effects of Saharan dust captured by the aerosol-affected radiances, which modify the initial fields and can improve the forecasting of AEWs.
Tao Tang, Drew Shindell, Yuqiang Zhang, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Gunnar Myhre, Gregory Faluvegi, Bjørn H. Samset, Timothy Andrews, Dirk Olivié, Toshihiko Takemura, and Xuhui Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13797–13809, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13797-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13797-2021, 2021
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Previous studies showed that black carbon (BC) could warm the surface with decreased incoming radiation. With climate models, we found that the surface energy redistribution plays a more crucial role in surface temperature compared with other forcing agents. Though BC could reduce the surface heating, the energy dissipates less efficiently, which is manifested by reduced convective and evaporative cooling, thereby warming the surface.
Jiaojiao Liu and Xiangjun Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10609–10624, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10609-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10609-2021, 2021
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Cirrus thinning, which reduces the warming effect of cirrus clouds, has been investigated as a new geoengineering approach. In this study, a flexible seeding method is used to exploit the potential cooling effect of cirrus thinning. Simulation results show that the seeding method is essential for estimating the cooling effect. Cirrus thinning with the flexible seeding method could produce a considerable cooling effect, which is much stronger than the fixed seeding method.
Inés Sanz-Morère, Sebastian D. Eastham, Florian Allroggen, Raymond L. Speth, and Steven R. H. Barrett
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1649–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1649-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1649-2021, 2021
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Contrails cause ~50 % of aviation climate impacts, but this is highly uncertain. This is partly due to the effect of overlap between contrails and other cloud layers. We developed a model to quantify this effect, finding that overlap with natural clouds increased contrails' radiative forcing in 2015. This suggests that cloud avoidance may help in reducing aviation's climate impacts. We also find that contrail–contrail overlap reduces impacts by ~3 %, increasing non-linearly with optical depth.
Kine Onsum Moseid, Michael Schulz, Trude Storelvmo, Ingeborg Rian Julsrud, Dirk Olivié, Pierre Nabat, Martin Wild, Jason N. S. Cole, Toshihiko Takemura, Naga Oshima, Susanne E. Bauer, and Guillaume Gastineau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 16023–16040, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-16023-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-16023-2020, 2020
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In this study we compare solar radiation at the surface from observations and Earth system models from 1961 to 2014. We find that the models do not reproduce the so-called
global dimmingas found in observations. Only model experiments with anthropogenic aerosol emissions display any dimming at all. The discrepancies between observations and models are largest in China, which we suggest is in part due to erroneous aerosol precursor emission inventories in the emission dataset used for CMIP6.
Nina Črnivec and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10733–10755, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10733-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10733-2020, 2020
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Unresolved interaction between clouds and atmospheric radiation is a source of uncertainty in weather and climate models. The present study highlights the potential of the state-of-the-art Tripleclouds radiative solver for shallow cumulus clouds, exposing the significance of properly representing subgrid cloud horizontal heterogeneity. The Tripleclouds concept was thereby incorporated in the widely employed δ-Eddington two-stream radiation scheme within the comprehensive libRadtran library.
Allison B. Marquardt Collow, Mark A. Miller, Lynne C. Trabachino, Michael P. Jensen, and Meng Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10073–10090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10073-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10073-2020, 2020
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Uncertainties in marine boundary layer clouds arise in the presence of biomass burning aerosol, as is the case over the southeast Atlantic Ocean. Heating due to this aerosol has the potential to alter the thermodynamic profile as the aerosol is transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Radiation transfer experiments indicate local shortwave aerosol heating is ~2–8 K d−1; however uncertainties in this quantity exist due to the single-scattering albedo and back trajectories of the aerosol plume.
Christopher J. Smith, Ryan J. Kramer, Gunnar Myhre, Kari Alterskjær, William Collins, Adriana Sima, Olivier Boucher, Jean-Louis Dufresne, Pierre Nabat, Martine Michou, Seiji Yukimoto, Jason Cole, David Paynter, Hideo Shiogama, Fiona M. O'Connor, Eddy Robertson, Andy Wiltshire, Timothy Andrews, Cécile Hannay, Ron Miller, Larissa Nazarenko, Alf Kirkevåg, Dirk Olivié, Stephanie Fiedler, Anna Lewinschal, Chloe Mackallah, Martin Dix, Robert Pincus, and Piers M. Forster
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9591–9618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9591-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9591-2020, 2020
Short summary
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The spread in effective radiative forcing for both CO2 and aerosols is narrower in the latest CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) generation than in CMIP5. For the case of CO2 it is likely that model radiation parameterisations have improved. Tropospheric and stratospheric radiative adjustments to the forcing behave differently for different forcing agents, and there is still significant diversity in how clouds respond to forcings, particularly for total anthropogenic forcing.
Tao Tang, Drew Shindell, Yuqiang Zhang, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Gunnar Myhre, Camilla W. Stjern, Gregory Faluvegi, and Bjørn H. Samset
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8251–8266, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8251-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8251-2020, 2020
Short summary
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By using climate simulations, we found that both CO2 and black carbon aerosols could reduce low-level cloud cover, which is mainly due to changes in relative humidity, cloud water, dynamics, and stability. Because the impact of cloud on solar radiation is in effect only during daytime, such cloud reduction could enhance solar heating, thereby raising the daily maximum temperature by 10–50 %, varying by region, which has great implications for extreme climate events and socioeconomic activity.
Tobias Donth, Evelyn Jäkel, André Ehrlich, Bernd Heinold, Jacob Schacht, Andreas Herber, Marco Zanatta, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8139–8156, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8139-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8139-2020, 2020
Short summary
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Solar radiative effects of Arctic black carbon (BC) particles (suspended in the atmosphere and in the surface snowpack) were quantified under cloudless and cloudy conditions. An atmospheric and a snow radiative transfer model were coupled to account for radiative interactions between both compartments. It was found that (i) the warming effect of BC in the snowpack overcompensates for the atmospheric BC cooling effect, and (ii) clouds tend to reduce the atmospheric BC cooling and snow BC warming.
Paul Ockenfuß, Claudia Emde, Bernhard Mayer, and Germar Bernhard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1961–1976, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1961-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1961-2020, 2020
Short summary
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We model solar radiation as it would be measured on the Earth's surface in the core shadow of a total solar eclipse. Subsequently, we compare our results to observations during the total eclipse 2017 for ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Moreover, we analyze the effect of the surface reflectance, the ozone profile, aerosol and the topography and give a visualization of the prevailing photons paths in the atmosphere during the eclipse.
Nina Črnivec and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8083–8100, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8083-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8083-2019, 2019
Short summary
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The interaction between radiation and clouds represents a source of uncertainty in numerical weather prediction (NWP), due to both intrinsic problems of one-dimensional radiation schemes and poor representation of clouds. The underlying question addressed in this study is how large the bias is of radiative heating rates in NWP models for shallow cumulus clouds and how it scales with various parameters, such as solar zenith angle, surface albedo, cloud cover and liquid water path.
Ben Kravitz, Philip J. Rasch, Hailong Wang, Alan Robock, Corey Gabriel, Olivier Boucher, Jason N. S. Cole, Jim Haywood, Duoying Ji, Andy Jones, Andrew Lenton, John C. Moore, Helene Muri, Ulrike Niemeier, Steven Phipps, Hauke Schmidt, Shingo Watanabe, Shuting Yang, and Jin-Ho Yoon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13097–13113, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13097-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13097-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Marine cloud brightening has been proposed as a means of geoengineering/climate intervention, or deliberately altering the climate system to offset anthropogenic climate change. In idealized simulations that highlight contrasts between land and ocean, we find that the globe warms, including the ocean due to transport of heat from land. This study reinforces that no net energy input into the Earth system does not mean that temperature will necessarily remain unchanged.
Rick D. Russotto and Thomas P. Ackerman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11905–11925, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11905-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11905-2018, 2018
Short summary
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In simulations with different climate models in which the strength of the Sun is reduced to cancel the surface warming from a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide, low cloud cover decreases, high cloud cover increases, the upper troposphere and stratosphere cool, and water vapor concentration decreases. The stratospheric cooling and low cloud reduction result in more sunlight reduction being needed than originally thought.
Justyna Lisok, Anna Rozwadowska, Jesper G. Pedersen, Krzysztof M. Markowicz, Christoph Ritter, Jacek W. Kaminski, Joanna Struzewska, Mauro Mazzola, Roberto Udisti, Silvia Becagli, and Izabela Gorecka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8829–8848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8829-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8829-2018, 2018
Short summary
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The aim of the presented study was to investigate the impact on the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of a biomass-burning plume, transported from Alaska to the High Arctic region of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in early July 2015. We found that the smoke plume may significantly alter radiative properties of the atmosphere. Furthermore, the simulations of atmospheric dynamics indicated a vertical positive displacement and broadening of the plume with time.
Simon Gruber, Simon Unterstrasser, Jan Bechtold, Heike Vogel, Martin Jung, Henry Pak, and Bernhard Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6393–6411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6393-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6393-2018, 2018
Short summary
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A numerical model also used for operational weather forecast was applied to investigate the impact of contrails and contrail cirrus on the radiative fluxes at the earth's surface. Accounting for contrails produced by aircraft enables the model to simulate high clouds that are otherwise missing. In a case study, we find that the effect of these extra clouds is to reduce the incoming shortwave radiation at the surface as well as the production of photovoltaic power by up to 10 %.
Andrew E. Dessler, Thorsten Mauritsen, and Bjorn Stevens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5147–5155, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5147-2018, 2018
Short summary
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One of the most important parameters in climate science is the equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS). Estimates of this quantity based on 20th-century observations suggest low values of ECS (below 2 °C). We show that these calculations may be significantly in error. Together with other recent work on this problem, it seems probable that the ECS is larger than suggested by the 20th-century observations.
Jake J. Gristey, J. Christine Chiu, Robert J. Gurney, Cyril J. Morcrette, Peter G. Hill, Jacqueline E. Russell, and Helen E. Brindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5129–5145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5129-2018, 2018
Daniela Meloni, Alcide di Sarra, Gérard Brogniez, Cyrielle Denjean, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Tatiana Di Iorio, Paola Formenti, José L. Gómez-Amo, Julian Gröbner, Natalia Kouremeti, Giuliano Liuzzi, Marc Mallet, Giandomenico Pace, and Damiano M. Sferlazzo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4377–4401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4377-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4377-2018, 2018
Short summary
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This study examines how different aerosol optical properties determine the dust longwave radiative effects at the surface, in the atmosphere and at the top of the atmosphere, based on the combination of remote sensing and in situ observations from the ground, from airborne sensors, and from space, by means of radiative transfer modelling. The closure experiment is based on longwave irradiances and spectral brightness temperatures measured during the 2013 ChArMEx–ADRIMED campaign at Lampedusa.
Netsanet K. Alamirew, Martin C. Todd, Claire L. Ryder, John H. Marsham, and Yi Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1241–1262, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1241-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1241-2018, 2018
Short summary
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This paper quantifies the radiative effects of dust and water vapour in the Saharan heat low. Dust has a warming effect at the top of the atmosphere while cooling the surface. Water vapour has a warming effect both at the top of atmosphere and the surface. We find dust and water vapour have similar effects in driving the variability in the top-of-atmosphere radiative budget, while dust has a stronger effect than water vapour in controlling day-to-day variability of the surface radiative budget.
Fabian Jakub and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13317–13327, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13317-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13317-2017, 2017
Short summary
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The formation of shallow cumulus cloud streets was historically attributed primarily to dynamics. Here, we focus on the interaction between radiatively induced surface heterogeneities and the resulting patterns in the flow. Our results suggest that solar radiative heating has the potential to organize clouds perpendicular to the sun's incidence angle.
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Short summary
Understanding how ice clouds influence the Earth's energy balance remains a key challenge for predicting the future climate. These clouds are ubiquitous and are composed of ice crystals that have complex shapes that are incredibly difficult to model. This work exploits new measurements of the Earth's emitted thermal energy made from instruments flown on board an aircraft to test how well the latest ice cloud models can represent these clouds. Results indicate further developments are required.
Understanding how ice clouds influence the Earth's energy balance remains a key challenge for...
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