Articles | Volume 26, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-217-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-26-217-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 07 Jan 2026
| 07 Jan 2026
Dust semi-direct effects: low-level cloud response to free-tropospheric dust-induced longwave radiation over the North Atlantic Ocean
Satyendra K. Pandey
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California – Merced, Merced, CA, USA
Adeyemi A. Adebiyi
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California – Merced, Merced, CA, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Ian Chang, Lan Gao, Connor J. Flynn, Yohei Shinozuka, Sarah J. Doherty, Michael S. Diamond, Karla M. Longo, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Gregory R. Carmichael, Patricia Castellanos, Arlindo M. da Silva, Pablo E. Saide, Calvin Howes, Zhixin Xue, Marc Mallet, Ravi Govindaraju, Qiaoqiao Wang, Yafang Cheng, Yan Feng, Sharon P. Burton, Richard A. Ferrare, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Kristina Pistone, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Kerry G. Meyer, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Adeyemi A. Adebiyi, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sundar A. Christopher, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4283–4309, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Abundant aerosols are present above low-level liquid clouds over the southeastern Atlantic during late austral spring. The model simulation differences in the proportion of aerosol residing in the planetary boundary layer and in the free troposphere can greatly affect the regional aerosol radiative effects. This study examines the aerosol loading and fractional aerosol loading in the free troposphere among various models and evaluates them against measurements from the NASA ORACLES campaign.
Cited articles
Adebiyi, A. A. and Kok, J. F.: Climate models miss most of the coarse dust in the atmosphere, Sci. Adv., 6, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz9507, 2020.
Adebiyi, A. A. and Zuidema, P.: Low cloud cover sensitivity to biomass-burning aerosols and meteorology over the Southeast Atlantic, J. Clim., 31, 4329–4346, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0406.1, 2018.
Adebiyi, A. A., Zuidema, P., and Abel, S. J.: The convolution of dynamics and moisture with the presence of shortwave absorbing aerosols over the southeast Atlantic, J. Clim., 28, 1997–2024, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00352.1, 2015.
Adebiyi, A. A., Kok, J. F., Murray, B. J., Ryder, C. L., Stuut, J. B. W., Kahn, R. A., Knippertz, P., Formenti, P., Mahowald, N. M., Pérez García-Pando, C., Klose, M., Ansmann, A., Samset, B. H., Ito, A., Balkanski, Y., Di Biagio, C., Romanias, M. N., Huang, Y., and Meng, J.: A review of coarse mineral dust in the Earth system, Aeolian Res., 60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2022.100849, 2023.
Adebiyi, A. A., Pandey, S. K., Di Biagio, C., Chang, I., Formenti, P., and Akinsanola, A. A.: Aerosols over Africa: sources, properties, and distribution, in: Aerosols and Precipitation Over Africa, Elsevier, 1–64, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-44-314050-1.00006-2, 2025.
Albrecht, B. A.: Aerosols, Cloud Microphysics, and Fractional Cloudiness, Science, 245, 1227–1230, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.245.4923.1227, 1989.
Allen, R. J., Amiri-Farahani, A., Lamarque, J. F., Smith, C., Shindell, D., Hassan, T., and Chung, C. E.: Observationally constrained aerosol–cloud semi-direct effects, NPJ Clim Atmos Sci, 2, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-019-0073-9, 2019.
Amiri-Farahani, A., Allen, R. J., Neubauer, D., and Lohmann, U.: Impact of Saharan dust on North Atlantic marine stratocumulus clouds: importance of the semidirect effect, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6305–6322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6305-2017, 2017.
Arola, A., Lipponen, A., Kolmonen, P., Virtanen, T. H., Bellouin, N., Grosvenor, D. P., Gryspeerdt, E., Quaas, J., and Kokkola, H.: Aerosol effects on clouds are concealed by natural cloud heterogeneity and satellite retrieval errors, Nat. Commun., 13, 7357, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34948-5, 2022.
Atwater, M. A.: Planetary Albedo Changes Due to Aerosols, Science, 170, 64–66, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.170.3953.64, 1970.
Baró Pérez, A., Devasthale, A., Bender, F. A.-M., and Ekman, A. M. L.: Impact of smoke and non-smoke aerosols on radiation and low-level clouds over the southeast Atlantic from co-located satellite observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6053–6077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6053-2021, 2021.
Bellouin, N.: Aerosols: Role in Climate Change, 2nd Edn., Elsevier, 76–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-382225-3.00054-2, 2015.
Bellouin, N., Quaas, J., Gryspeerdt, E., Kinne, S., Stier, P., Watson-Parris, D., Boucher, O., Carslaw, K. S., Christensen, M., Daniau, A.-L., Dufresne, J.-L., Feingold, G., Fiedler, S., Forster, P., Gettelman, A., Haywood, J. M., Lohmann, U., Malavelle, F., Mauritsen, T., McCoy, D. T., Myhre, G., Mülmenstädt, J., Neubauer, D., Possner, A., Rugenstein, M., Sato, Y., Schulz, M., Schwartz, S. E., Sourdeval, O., Storelvmo, T., Toll, V., Winker, D., and Stevens, B.: Bounding Global Aerosol Radiative Forcing of Climate Change, Reviews of Geophysics, 58, 1–45, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000660, 2020.
Bender, F. A.-M.: Aerosol Forcing: Still Uncertain, Still Relevant, AGU Advances, 1, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019AV000128, 2020.
Bertrand, L., Kay, J. E., Haynes, J., and de Boer, G.: A global gridded dataset for cloud vertical structure from combined CloudSat and CALIPSO observations, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1301–1316, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1301-2024, 2024.
Di Biagio, C., Formenti, P., Balkanski, Y., Caponi, L., Cazaunau, M., Pangui, E., Journet, E., Nowak, S., Andreae, M. O., Kandler, K., Saeed, T., Piketh, S., Seibert, D., Williams, E., and Doussin, J.-F.: Complex refractive indices and single-scattering albedo of global dust aerosols in the shortwave spectrum and relationship to size and iron content, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15503–15531, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15503-2019, 2019.
Bond, T. C., Doherty, S. J., Fahey, D. W., Forster, P. M., Berntsen, T., DeAngelo, B. J., Flanner, M. G., Ghan, S., Kärcher, B., Koch, D., Kinne, S., Kondo, Y., Quinn, P. K., Sarofim, M. C., Schultz, M. G., Schulz, M., Venkataraman, C., Zhang, H., Zhang, S., Bellouin, N., Guttikunda, S. K., Hopke, P. K., Jacobson, M. Z., Kaiser, J. W., Klimont, Z., Lohmann, U., Schwarz, J. P., Shindell, D., Storelvmo, T., Warren, S. G., and Zender, C. S.: Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118, 5380–5552, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50171, 2013.
Bretherton, C. S.: Insights into low-latitude cloud feedbacks from high-resolution models, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 373, 20140415, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0415, 2015.
Bretherton, C. S. and Wyant, M. C.: Moisture Transport, Lower-Tropospheric Stability, and Decoupling of Cloud-Topped Boundary Layers, J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 148–167, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1997)054<0148:MTLTSA>2.0.CO;2, 1997.
Candlish, L. M., Raddatz, R. L., Gunn, G. G., Asplin, M. G., and Barber, D. G.: A validation of cloudsat and CALIPSO's temperature, humidity, cloud detection, and cloud base height over the arctic marine cryosphere, Atmosphere-Ocean, 51, 249–264, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2013.798582, 2013.
Cappa, C., Kotamarthi, R., Selacek, A., Flynn, C., Lewis, E., McComiskey, A., and Riemer, N.: Absorbing Aerosols Workshop Report, 20–21 January, 2016, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.2172/1471231, 2016.
Ceppi, P., Brient, F., Zelinka, M. D., and Hartmann, D. L.: Cloud feedback mechanisms and their representation in global climate models, https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.465, 2017.
Chen, B., Huang, J., Minnis, P., Hu, Y., Yi, Y., Liu, Z., Zhang, D., and Wang, X.: Detection of dust aerosol by combining CALIPSO active lidar and passive IIR measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 4241–4251, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4241-2010, 2010.
Chlek, P. and Coakley, J. A.: Aerosols and Climate, Science, 183, 75–77, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.183.4120.75, 1974.
Christensen, M. W., Carrió, G. G., Stephens, G. L., and Cotton, W. R.: Radiative impacts of free-tropospheric clouds on the properties of marine stratocumulus, J. Atmos. Sci., 70, 3102–3118, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0287.1, 2013.
Cronk, H.: CloudSat ECMWF-AUX Auxillary Data Product Process Description and Interface Control Document, https://www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu/cloudsat-static/info/dl/ecmwf-aux/ECMWF-AUX.PDICD.P1_R05.rev0.pdf (last access: 17 June 2025), 2017.
D'Almeida, G. A., Koepke, P., and Shettle, E. P.: Atmospheric aerosols: global climatology and radiative characteristics, A. Deepak Pub. Hampton, Va., USA, https://worldcat.org/title/22763033 (last access: 17 June 2025), 1991.
Deaconu, L. T., Ferlay, N., Waquet, F., Peers, F., Thieuleux, F., and Goloub, P.: Satellite inference of water vapour and above-cloud aerosol combined effect on radiative budget and cloud-top processes in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11613–11634, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11613-2019, 2019.
DeFlorio, M. J., Ghan, S. J., Singh, B., Miller, A. J., Cayan, D. R., Russell, L. M., and Somervill, R. C. J.: Semidirect dynamical and radiative effect of North African dust transport on lower tropospheric clouds over the subtropical North Atlantic in CESM 1.0 Michael, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 119, 8284–8303, https://doi.org/10.1038/175238c0, 2014.
Doherty, O. M. and Evan, A. T.: Identification of a new dust-stratocumulus indirect effect over the tropical North Atlantic, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 6935–6942, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060897, 2014.
Eastman, R. and Wood, R.: The competing effects of stability and humidity on subtropical stratocumulus entrainment and cloud evolution from a Lagrangian perspective, J. Atmos. Sci., 75, 2563–2578, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-18-0030.1, 2018.
Formenti, P. and Di Biagio, C.: Large synthesis of in situ field measurements of the size distribution of mineral dust aerosols across their life cycles, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4995–5007, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4995-2024, 2024.
Forster, P., Storelvmo, T., Armour, K., Collins, W., Dufresne, J.-L., Frame, D., Lunt, D. J., Mauritsen, T., Palmer, M. D., Watanabe, M., Wild, M., and Zhang, H.: The Earth's Energy Budget, Climate Feedbacks and Climate Sensitivity, in: Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis, vol. 17, edited by: Masson-Delmotte, V., Zhai, P., Pirani, A., Connors, S. L., Péan, C., Berger, S., Caud, N., Chen, Y., Goldfarb, L., Gomis, M. I., Huang, M., Leitzell, K., Lonnoy, E., Matthews, J. B. R., Maycock, T. K., Waterfield, T., Yelekçi, O., Yu, R., and Zhou, B., Cambridge University Press, 923–1054, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157896.009, 2023.
Fu, Q. and Liou, K. N.: On the Correlated k-Distribution Method for Radiative Transfer in Nonhomogeneous Atmospheres, Journal of Atmospheric Science, 49, 2139–2156, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1992)049<2139:OTCDMF>2.0.CO;2, 1992.
Gelaro, R., McCarty, W., Suárez, M. J., Todling, R., Molod, A., Takacs, L., Randles, C. A., Darmenov, A., Bosilovich, M. G., Reichle, R., Wargan, K., Coy, L., Cullather, R., Draper, C., Akella, S., Buchard, V., Conaty, A., da Silva, A. M., Gu, W., Kim, G. K., Koster, R., Lucchesi, R., Merkova, D., Nielsen, J. E., Partyka, G., Pawson, S., Putman, W., Rienecker, M., Schubert, S. D., Sienkiewicz, M., and Zhao, B.: The modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), J. Clim., 30, 5419–5454, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0758.1, 2017.
Gkikas, A., Proestakis, E., Amiridis, V., Kazadzis, S., Di Tomaso, E., Marinou, E., Hatzianastassiou, N., Kok, J. F., and García-Pando, C. P.: Quantification of the dust optical depth across spatiotemporal scales with the MIDAS global dataset (2003–2017), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3553–3578, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3553-2022, 2022.
Hahn, C. J. and Warren, S. G.: A Gridded Climatology of Clouds over Land (1971–1996) and Ocean (1954–2008) from Surface Observations Worldwide (NDP-026E)*, ESS-DIVE [data set], https://doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/cli.ndp026e, 2007.
Hansen, J., Sato, M., and Ruedy, R.: Radiative forcing and climate response, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 102, 6831–6864, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD03436, 1997.
Haywood, J. M., Abel, S. J., Barrett, P. A., Bellouin, N., Blyth, A., Bower, K. N., Brooks, M., Carslaw, K., Che, H., Coe, H., Cotterell, M. I., Crawford, I., Cui, Z., Davies, N., Dingley, B., Field, P., Formenti, P., Gordon, H., de Graaf, M., Herbert, R., Johnson, B., Jones, A. C., Langridge, J. M., Malavelle, F., Partridge, D. G., Peers, F., Redemann, J., Stier, P., Szpek, K., Taylor, J. W., Watson-Parris, D., Wood, R., Wu, H., and Zuidema, P.: The CLoud–Aerosol–Radiation Interaction and Forcing: Year 2017 (CLARIFY-2017) measurement campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1049–1084, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1049-2021, 2021.
Henderson, D. S., L'ecuyer, T., Stephens, G., Partain, P., and Sekiguchi, M.: A multisensor perspective on the radiative impacts of clouds and aerosols, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 52, 853–871, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-025.1, 2013.
Herbert, R. and Stier, P.: Satellite observations of smoke–cloud–radiation interactions over the Amazon rainforest, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4595–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4595-2023, 2023.
Herbert, R. J., Bellouin, N., Highwood, E. J., and Hill, A. A.: Diurnal cycle of the semi-direct effect from a persistent absorbing aerosol layer over marine stratocumulus in large-eddy simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1317–1340, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1317-2020, 2020.
Hess, M., Koepke, P., and Schult, I.: Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds: The Software Package OPAC, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 831–844, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079<0831:OPOAAC>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Huang, J., Lin, B., Minnis, P., Wang, T., Wang, X., Hu, Y., Yi, Y., and Ayers, J. K.: Satellite-based assessment of possible dust aerosols semi-direct effect on cloud water path over East Asia, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, 2–6, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026561, 2006.
Hunt, W. H., Winker, D. M., Vaughan, M. A., Powell, K. A., Lucker, P. L., and Weimer, C.: CALIPSO Lidar Description and Performance Assessment, J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol., 26, 1214–1228, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1223.1, 2009.
Jacobson, M. Z.: Effects of biomass burning on climate, accounting for heat and moisture fluxes, black and brown carbon, and cloud absorption effects, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 119, 8980–9002, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021861, 2014.
Jethva, H., Torres, O., Waquet, F., Chand, D., and Hu, Y.: How do A-train sensors intercompare in the retrieval of above- cloud aerosol optical depth? A case study-based assessment, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 186–192, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058405, 2014.
Johnson, B. T., Shine, K. P., and Forster, P. M.: The semi-direct aerosol effect: Impact of absorbing aerosols on marine stratocumulus, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 130, 1407–1422, https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.03.61, 2004.
Kahn, B. H., Chahine, M. T., Stephens, G. L., Mace, G. G., Marchand, R. T., Wang, Z., Barnet, C. D., Eldering, A., Holz, R. E., Kuehn, R. E., and Vane, D. G.: Cloud type comparisons of AIRS, CloudSat, and CALIPSO cloud height and amount, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1231–1248, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-1231-2008, 2008.
Kim, M.-H., Omar, A. H., Tackett, J. L., Vaughan, M. A., Winker, D. M., Trepte, C. R., Hu, Y., Liu, Z., Poole, L. R., Pitts, M. C., Kar, J., and Magill, B. E.: The CALIPSO version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6107–6135, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6107-2018, 2018.
Kim, S.-W., Berthier, S., Raut, J.-C., Chazette, P., Dulac, F., and Yoon, S.-C.: Validation of aerosol and cloud layer structures from the space-borne lidar CALIOP using a ground-based lidar in Seoul, Korea, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3705–3720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-3705-2008, 2008.
Klein, S. A., Hall, A., Norris, J. R., and Pincus, R.: Low-Cloud Feedbacks from Cloud-Controlling Factors: A Review, Surv. Geophys., 38, 1307–1329, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-017-9433-3, 2017.
Koch, D. and Del Genio, A. D.: Black carbon semi-direct effects on cloud cover: review and synthesis, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 7685–7696, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-7685-2010, 2010.
Kok, J. F., Ridley, D. A., Zhou, Q., Miller, R. L., Zhao, C., Heald, C. L., Ward, D. S., Albani, S., and Haustein, K.: Smaller desert dust cooling effect estimated from analysis of dust size and abundance, Nat. Geosci., 10, 274–278, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2912, 2017.
Kok, J. F., Adebiyi, A. A., Albani, S., Balkanski, Y., Checa-Garcia, R., Chin, M., Colarco, P. R., Hamilton, D. S., Huang, Y., Ito, A., Klose, M., Li, L., Mahowald, N. M., Miller, R. L., Obiso, V., Pérez García-Pando, C., Rocha-Lima, A., and Wan, J. S.: Contribution of the world's main dust source regions to the global cycle of desert dust, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8169–8193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8169-2021, 2021a.
Kok, J. F., Adebiyi, A. A., Albani, S., Balkanski, Y., Checa-Garcia, R., Chin, M., Colarco, P. R., Hamilton, D. S., Huang, Y., Ito, A., Klose, M., Leung, D. M., Li, L., Mahowald, N. M., Miller, R. L., Obiso, V., Pérez García-Pando, C., Rocha-Lima, A., Wan, J. S., and Whicker, C. A.: Improved representation of the global dust cycle using observational constraints on dust properties and abundance, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8127–8167, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8127-2021, 2021b.
Kok, J. F., Storelvmo, T., Karydis, V. A., Adebiyi, A. A., Mahowald, N. M., Evan, A. T., He, C., and Leung, D. M.: Mineral dust aerosol impacts on global climate and climate change, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 4, 71–86, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00379-5, 2023.
Koren, I., Kaufman, Y. J., Remer, L. A., and Martins, J. V.: Measurement of the Effect of Amazon Smoke on Inhibition of Cloud Formation, Science, 303, 1342–1345, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1089424, 2004.
L'Ecuyer, T. S., Wood, N. B., Haladay, T., Stephens, G. L., and Stackhouse, P. W.: Impact of clouds on atmospheric heating based on the R04 CloudSat fluxes and heating rates data set, J. Geophys. Res., 113, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009951, 2008.
Li, J., Carlson, B. E., Yung, Y. L., Lv, D., Hansen, J., Penner, J. E., Liao, H., Ramaswamy, V., Kahn, R. A., Zhang, P., Dubovik, O., Ding, A., Lacis, A. A., Zhang, L., and Dong, Y.: Scattering and absorbing aerosols in the climate system, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 3, 363–379, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00296-7, 2022.
Liu, Z., Vaughan, M. A., Winker, D. M., Hostetler, C. A., Poole, L. R., Hlavka, D., Hart, W., and McGill, M.: Use of probability distribution functions for discriminating between clouds and aerosol in lidar backscatter data, Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres, 109, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004732, 2004.
Liu, Z., Vaughan, M., Winker, D., Kittaka, C., Getzewich, B., Kuehn, R., Omar, A., Powell, K., Trepte, C., and Hostetler, C.: The CALIPSO Lidar Cloud and Aerosol Discrimination: Version 2 Algorithm and Initial Assessment of Performance, J. Atmos. Ocean Technol., 26, 1198–1213, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1229.1, 2009.
Liu, Z., Kar, J., Zeng, S., Tackett, J., Vaughan, M., Avery, M., Pelon, J., Getzewich, B., Lee, K.-P., Magill, B., Omar, A., Lucker, P., Trepte, C., and Winker, D.: Discriminating between clouds and aerosols in the CALIOP version 4.1 data products, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 703–734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-703-2019, 2019.
Loeb, N. G. and Schuster, G. L.: An observational study of the relationship between cloud, aerosol and meteorology in broken low-level cloud conditions, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 113, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009763, 2008.
Lu, X., Mao, F., Rosenfeld, D., Zhu, Y., Pan, Z., and Gong, W.: Satellite retrieval of cloud base height and geometric thickness of low-level cloud based on CALIPSO, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11979–12003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11979-2021, 2021.
Mallet, M., Solmon, F., Nabat, P., Elguindi, N., Waquet, F., Bouniol, D., Sayer, A. M., Meyer, K., Roehrig, R., Michou, M., Zuidema, P., Flamant, C., Redemann, J., and Formenti, P.: Direct and semi-direct radiative forcing of biomass-burning aerosols over the southeast Atlantic (SEA) and its sensitivity to absorbing properties: a regional climate modeling study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13191–13216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13191-2020, 2020.
Mamouri, R. E., Amiridis, V., Papayannis, A., Giannakaki, E., Tsaknakis, G., and Balis, D. S.: Validation of CALIPSO space-borne-derived attenuated backscatter coefficient profiles using a ground-based lidar in Athens, Greece, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 2, 513–522, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2-513-2009, 2009.
Mauger, G. S. and Norris, J. R.: Assessing the Impact of Meteorological History on Subtropical Cloud Fraction, J. Clim., 23, 2926–2940, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI3272.1, 2010.
NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC: CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 Aerosol Profile, V4-20, NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Center DAAC [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/CALIOP/CALIPSO/LID_L2_05KMAPRO-STANDARD-V4-20, 2018a.
NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC: CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 5 km Aerosol Layer Data, V4-20, NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Center DAAC [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/CALIOP/CALIPSO/LID_L2_05KMALAY-STANDARD-V4-20, 2018b.
Naud, C. M., Elsaesser, G. S., and Booth, J. F.: Dominant Cloud Controlling Factors for Low-Level Cloud Fraction: Subtropical Versus Extratropical Oceans, Geophys. Res. Lett., 50, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104496, 2023.
Nayak, M., Witkowski, M., Vane, D., Livermore, T., Rokey, M., Barthuli, M., Gravseth, I. J., Pieper, B., Rodzinak, A., Silva, S., and Woznick, P.: CloudSat Anomaly Recovery and Operational Lessons Learned, in: SpaceOps 2012 Conference, https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2012-1295798, 2012.
Omar, A. H., Winker, D. M., Kittaka, C., Vaughan, M. A., Liu, Z., Hu, Y., Trepte, C. R., Rogers, R. R., Ferrare, R. A., Lee, K. P., Kuehn, R. E., and Hostetler, C. A.: The CALIPSO automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm, J. Atmos. Ocean Technol., 26, 1994–2014, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1231.1, 2009.
Pandey, S. K. and Adebiyi, A.: Dust semi-direct effects: Low-level cloud response to free-tropospheric dust-induced longwave radiation over the North Atlantic Ocean, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15571618, 2025.
Perrone, M. R., De Tomasi, F., and Burlizzi, P.: Aerosol products by CALIOP at 532 nm and by a ground-based Raman lidar at 355 nm: Intercomparison methodology, Atmos. Res., 101, 438–449, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.04.005, 2011.
Prospero, J. M., Delany, A. C., Delany, A. C., and Carlson, T. N.: The discovery of african dust transport to the western hemisphere and the Saharan air layer: A history, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 102, E1239–E1260, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0309.1, 2021.
Rajapakshe, C., Zhang, Z., Yorks, J. E., Yu, H., Tan, Q., Meyer, K., Platnick, S., and Winker, D. M.: Seasonally transported aerosol layers over southeast Atlantic are closer to underlying clouds than previously reported, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 5818–5825, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073559, 2017.
Ricchiazzi, P., Yang, S., Gautier, C., and Sowle, D.: SBDART: A Research and Teaching Software Tool for Plane-Parallel Radiative Transfer in the Earth's Atmosphere, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2101–2114, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079<2101:SARATS>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Ryder, C. L.: Radiative Effects of Increased Water Vapor in the Upper Saharan Air Layer Associated With Enhanced Dustiness, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034696, 2021.
Ryder, C. L., Highwood, E. J., Rosenberg, P. D., Trembath, J., Brooke, J. K., Bart, M., Dean, A., Crosier, J., Dorsey, J., Brindley, H., Banks, J., Marsham, J. H., McQuaid, J. B., Sodemann, H., and Washington, R.: Optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol and contribution from the coarse mode as measured during the Fennec 2011 aircraft campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 303–325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-303-2013, 2013.
Ryder, C. L., Marenco, F., Brooke, J. K., Estelles, V., Cotton, R., Formenti, P., McQuaid, J. B., Price, H. C., Liu, D., Ausset, P., Rosenberg, P. D., Taylor, J. W., Choularton, T., Bower, K., Coe, H., Gallagher, M., Crosier, J., Lloyd, G., Highwood, E. J., and Murray, B. J.: Coarse-mode mineral dust size distributions, composition and optical properties from AER-D aircraft measurements over the tropical eastern Atlantic, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17225–17257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17225-2018, 2018.
Ryder, C. L., Highwood, E. J., Walser, A., Seibert, P., Philipp, A., and Weinzierl, B.: Coarse and giant particles are ubiquitous in Saharan dust export regions and are radiatively significant over the Sahara, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15353–15376, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15353-2019, 2019.
Sakai, T., Nagai, T., Zaizen, Y., and Mano, Y.: Backscattering linear depolarization ratio measurements of mineral, sea-salt, and ammonium sulfate particles simulated in a laboratory chamber, Appl. Opt., 49, 4441–4449, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.49.004441, 2010.
Sand, M., Samset, B. H., Myhre, G., Gliß, J., Bauer, S. E., Bian, H., Chin, M., Checa-Garcia, R., Ginoux, P., Kipling, Z., Kirkevåg, A., Kokkola, H., Le Sager, P., Lund, M. T., Matsui, H., van Noije, T., Olivié, D. J. L., Remy, S., Schulz, M., Stier, P., Stjern, C. W., Takemura, T., Tsigaridis, K., Tsyro, S. G., and Watson-Parris, D.: Aerosol absorption in global models from AeroCom phase III, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15929–15947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15929-2021, 2021.
Sandu, I. and Stevens, B.: On the Factors Modulating the Stratocumulus to Cumulus Transitions, J. Atmos. Sci., 68, 1865–1881, https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JAS3614.1, 2011.
Satheesh, S. and Krishnamoorthy, K.: Radiative effects of natural aerosols: A review, Atmos. Environ., 39, 2089–2110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.12.029, 2005.
Schneider, D. P., Deser, C., Fasullo, J., and Trenberth, K. E.: Climate Data Guide Spurs Discovery and Understanding, Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 94, 121–122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EO130001, 2013.
Scott, R. C., Myers, T. A., Norris, J. R., Zelinka, M. D., Klein, S. A., Sun, M., and Doelling, D. R.: Observed sensitivity of low-cloud radiative effects to meteorological perturbations over the global oceans, J. Clim., 33, 7717–7734, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-1028.1, 2020.
Singer, C. E. and Schneider, T.: CO2-driven stratocumulus cloud breakup in a bulk boundary layer model, ESSOAR, https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.168167204.45220772/v1, 2023.
Stubenrauch, C. J., Rossow, W. B., Kinne, S., Ackerman, S., Cesana, G., Chepfer, H., Di Girolamo, L., Getzewich, B., Guignard, A., Heidinger, A., Maddux, B. C., Menzel, W. P., Minnis, P., Pearl, C., Platnick, S., Poulsen, C., Riedi, J., Sun-Mack, S., Walther, A., Winker, D., Zeng, S., and Zhao, G.: Assessment of global cloud datasets from satellites: Project and database initiated by the GEWEX radiation panel, Bull, Am, Meteorol, Soc,, 94, 1031–1049, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00117.1, 2013.
Tackett, J. L., Winker, D. M., Getzewich, B. J., Vaughan, M. A., Young, S. A., and Kar, J.: CALIPSO lidar level 3 aerosol profile product: version 3 algorithm design, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4129–4152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4129-2018, 2018.
Twomey, S.: Pollution and the Planetary Albedo, Atmos. Environ., 8, 1251–1256, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.10.062, 1974.
Vaughan, M. A., Winker, D. M., and Hostetler, C. A.: SIBYL: a selective iterated boundary location algorithm for finding cloud and aerosol layers in CALIPSO lidar data, in: Lidar Remote Sensing in Atmospheric and Earth Sciences, Bissonnette, L. R., Roy, G., and Vallée G. (Eds.), Defence R&D Canada, Valcartier, Québec, Canada, pp. 791–794, 2002.
Vaughan, M. A., Powell, K. A., Kuehn, R. E., Young, S. A., Winker, D. M., Hostetler, C. A., Hunt, W. H., Liu, Z., Mcgill, M. J., and Getzewich, B. J.: Fully automated detection of cloud and aerosol layers in the CALIPSO lidar measurements, J. Atmos. Ocean Technol., 26, 2034–2050, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1228.1, 2009.
Volz, F. E.: Infrared Refractive Index of Atmospheric Aerosol Substances, Appl. Opt., 11, 755, https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.11.000755, 1972.
Weinzierl, B., Ansmann, A., Prospero, J. M., Althausen, D., Benker, N., Chouza, F., Dollner, M., Farrell, D., Fomba, W. K., Freudenthaler, V., Gasteiger, J., Groß, S., Haarig, M., Heinold, B., Kandler, K., Kristensen, T. B., Mayol-Bracero, O. L., Müller, T., Reitebuch, O., Sauer, D., Schäfler, A., Schepanski, K., Spanu, A., Tegen, I., Toledano, C., and Walser, A.: The Saharan aerosol long-range transport and aerosol-cloud-interaction experiment: Overview and selected highlights, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 98, 1427–1451, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00142.1, 2017.
Wilcox, E. M.: Stratocumulus cloud thickening beneath layers of absorbing smoke aerosol, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 11769–11777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-11769-2010, 2010.
Wilcox, E. M.: Direct and semi-direct radiative forcing of smoke aerosols over clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 139–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-139-2012, 2012.
Wilcox, E. M., Harshvardhan, and Platnick, S.: Estimate of the impact of absorbing aerosol over cloud on the MODIS retrievals of cloud optical thickness and effective radius using two independent retrievals of liquid water path, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 114, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010589, 2009.
Winker, D. M., Pelon, J., CoakleyJr, J. A., Ackerman, S. A., Charlson, R. J., Colarco, P. R., Flamant, P., Fu, Q., Hoff, R. M., Kittaka, C., Kubar, T. l., Treut, H. Le, Mccormick, M. P., Mégie, G., Poole, L., Powell, K., Trepte, C., Vaughan, M. A., and Wielick, B. A.: The CALIPSO Mission, Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, 91, 1211–1230, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010bams3009.1, 2010.
Wiscombe, W. J.: Improved Mie scattering algorithms, Appl. Opt., 19, 1505, https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.19.001505, 1980.
Witkowski, M. M., Vane, D., and Livermore, T.: CloudSat – Life in Daylight Only Operations (DO-Op), in: 2018 SpaceOps Conference, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-2562, 2018.
Wood, R.: Stratocumulus clouds, Mon. Weather Rev., 140, 2373–2423, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00121.1, 2012.
Wood, R. and Bretherton, C. S.: On the relationship between stratiform low cloud cover and lower-tropospheric stability, J. Clim., 19, 6425–6432, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI3988.1, 2006.
Yamaguchi, T., Feingold, G., Kazil, J., and McComiskey, A.: Stratocumulus to cumulus transition in the presence of elevated smoke layers, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 10478–10485, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066544, 2015.
Yu, H., Chin, M., Bian, H., Yuan, T., Prospero, J. M., Omar, A. H., Remer, L. A., Winker, D. M., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., and Zhang, Z.: Quantification of trans-Atlantic dust transport from seven-year (2007–2013) record of CALIPSO lidar measurements, Remote Sens. Environ., 159, 232–249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.12.010, 2015.
Zheng, J., Zhang, Z., Yu, H., Garnier, A., Song, Q., Wang, C., Di Biagio, C., Kok, J. F., Derimian, Y., and Ryder, C.: Thermal infrared dust optical depth and coarse-mode effective diameter over oceans retrieved from collocated MODIS and CALIOP observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8271–8304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023, 2023.
Zuidema, P., Redemann, J., Haywood, J., Wood, R., Piketh, S., Hipondoka, M., and Formenti, P.: Smoke and clouds above the southeast Atlantic: Upcoming field campaigns probe absorbing aerosol's impact on climate, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 97, 1131–1135, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00082.1, 2016.
Zuidema, P., Alvarez, C., Kramer, S. J., Custals, L., Izaguirre, M., Sealy, P., Prospero, J. M., and Blades, E.: Is summer African dust arriving earlier to Barbados? The updated long-term in-situ dust mass concentration time series from Ragged Point, Barbados and Miami, Florida, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 1981–1986, https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-18-0083.1, 2019.
Short summary
Mineral dust absorbs solar and terrestrial radiation, modifying the environment where clouds exist. When above low-level clouds, dust often increases cloud cover due to shortwave absorption. Using satellite data over the North Atlantic Ocean, we show that longwave absorption by dust reduces cloud-top cooling and weakens the increase in low-level cloud. Our results highlight the importance of accurately representing longwave effects of dust in model assessments of aerosol-climate interactions.
Mineral dust absorbs solar and terrestrial radiation, modifying the environment where clouds...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint