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At least 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Effective Radius of Ice Cloud Particle Populations Derived from Aircraft Probes

The effective radius(r(sub e)) is a crucial variable in representing the radiative properties of cloud layers in general circulation models. This parameter is proportional to the condensed water content (CWC) divided by the extinction (sigma). For ice cloud layers, parameterizations for r(sub e), have been developed from aircraft in-situ measurements 1) indirectly, using data obtained from particle spectrometer probes and assumptions or observations about particle shape and mass to get the ice water content (IWC) and area to get sigma, and recently 2) from probes that measure IWC and sigma directly. This study compares [IWC/sigma] derived from the two methods using data sets acquired from comparable instruments on two aircraft, one sampling clouds at mid-levels and the other at upper-levels during the CRYSTAL-FACE field program in Florida in 2002. The sigma and IWC derived by each method are compared and evaluated in different ways for each aircraft data set. Direct measurements of sigma exceed those derived indirectly by a factor of two to two and a half. The IWC probes, relying on ice sublimation, appear to measure accurately except when the IWC is high or the particles too large to sublimate completely during the short transit time through the probe. The IWC estimated from the particle probes are accurate when direct measurements are available to provide constraints and useful information in high IWC/large particle situations. Because of the discrepancy in sigma estimates between the direct and indirect approaches, there is a factor of 2 to 3 difference in [IWC/sigma] between them. Although there are significant uncertainties involved in its use, comparisons with several independent data sources suggest that the indirect method is the more accurate of the two approaches. However, experiments are needed to resolve the source of the discrepancy in sigma.

Heymsfield, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Near-global survey of effective droplet radii in liquid water clouds using ISCCP data

A global survey of cloud particle size variations can provide crucial constraints on how cloud processes determine cloud liquid water contents and their variation with temperature, and further, may indicate the magnitude of aerosol effects on clouds. A method, based on a complete radiative transfer model for Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-measured radiances, is described for retrieving cloud particle radii in liquid water clouds from satellite data currently available from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. Results of sensitivity tests and validation studies provide error estimates. AVHRR data from NOAA-9 and NOAA-10 have been analyzed for January, April, July and October in 1987 and 1988. The results of this first survey reveal systematic continental and maritime differences and hemispheric contrasts that are indicative of the effects of associated aerosol concentration differences: cloud droplet radii in continental water clouds are about 2-3 micrometers smaller than in marine clouds, and droplet radii are about 1 micrometer smaller in marine clouds of the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. The height dependencies of cloud droplet radii in continental and marine clouds are also consistent with differences in the vertical profiles of aerosol concentration. Significant seasonal and diurnal variations of effective droplet radii are also observed, particularly at lower latitudes. Variations of the relationship between cloud optical thickness and droplet radii may indicate variations in cloud microphysical regimes.

Han, Qingyan↗
NASA NTRS2007

Influence of Aerosols on the Shortwave Cloud Radiative Forcing from North Pacific Oceanic Clouds: Results from the Cloud Indirect Forcing Experiment (CIFEX)

Aerosols over the Northeastern Pacific Ocean enhance the cloud drop number concentration and reduce the drop size for marine stratocumulus and cumulus clouds. These microphysical effects result in brighter clouds, as evidenced by a combination of aircraft and satellite observations. In-situ measurements from the Cloud Indirect Forcing Experiment (CIFEX) indicate that the mean cloud drop number concentration in low clouds over the polluted marine boundary layer is greater by 53 cm(sup -3) compared to clean clouds, and the mean cloud drop effective radius is smaller by 4 micrometers. We link these in-situ measurements of cloud modification by aerosols, for the first time, with collocated satellite broadband radiative flux observations from the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System to show that these microphysical effects of aerosols enhance the top-of-atmosphere cooling by -.9.9 plus or minus 4.3 W m(sup -2) for overcast conditions.

Wilcox, Eric M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Study of the Effect of Temporal Sampling Frequency on DSCOVR Observations Using the GEOS-5 Nature Run Results: Cloud Coverage - Part II

This is the second part of a study on how temporal sampling frequency affects satellite retrievals in support of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission. Continuing from Part 1, which looked at Earth's radiation budget, this paper presents the effect of sampling frequency on DSCOVR-derived cloud fraction. The output from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) Nature Run is used as the "truth". The effect of temporal resolution on potential DSCOVR observations is assessed by subsampling the full Nature Run data. A set of metrics, including uncertainty and absolute error in the subsampled time series, correlation between the original and the subsamples, and Fourier analysis have been used for this study. Results show that, for a given sampling frequency, the uncertainties in the annual mean cloud fraction of the sunlit half of the Earth are larger over land than over ocean. Analysis of correlation coefficients between the subsamples and the original time series demonstrates that even though sampling at certain longer time intervals may not increase the uncertainty in the mean, the subsampled time series is further and further away from the "truth" as the sampling interval becomes larger and larger. Fourier analysis shows that the simulated DSCOVR cloud fraction has underlying periodical features at certain time intervals, such as 8, 12, and 24 h. If the data is subsampled at these frequencies, the uncertainties in the mean cloud fraction are higher. These results provide helpful insights for the DSCOVR temporal sampling strategy.

GEOS-5↗
DOE OSTI2020

Impacts of Wildfire Aerosols on Global Energy Budget and Climate: The Role of Climate Feedbacks

Aerosols emitted from wildfires could significantly affect global climate through perturbing global radiation balance. In this study, the Community Earth System Model with prescribed daily fire aerosol emissions is used to investigate fire aerosols’ impacts on global climate with emphasis on the role of climate feedbacks. The total global fire aerosol radiative effect (RE) is estimated to be -0.78 ± 0.29 W m -2 , which is mostly from shortwave RE due to aerosol–cloud interactions (REaci; -0.70 ± 0.20 W m -2 ). The associated global annual-mean surface air temperature (SAT) change ΔT is -0.64 ± 0.16 K with the largest reduction in the Arctic regions where the shortwave REaci is strong. Associated with the cooling, the Arctic sea ice is increased, which acts to reamplify the Arctic cooling through a positive ice-albedo feedback. The fast response (irrelevant to ΔT) tends to decrease surface latent heat flux into atmosphere in the tropics to balance strong atmospheric fire black carbon absorption, which reduces the precipitation in the tropical land regions (southern Africa and South America). The climate feedback processes (associated with ΔT) lead to a significant surface latent heat flux reduction over global ocean areas, which could explain most (~80%) of the global precipitation reduction. The precipitation significantly decreases in deep tropical regions (5°N) but increases in the Southern Hemisphere tropical ocean, which is associated with the southward shift of the intertropical convergence zone and the weakening of Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell. Such changes could partly compensate the interhemispheric temperature asymmetry induced by boreal forest fire aerosol indirect effects, through intensifying the cross-equator atmospheric heat transport.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2017

Integrative Analysis of Desert Dust Size and Abundance Suggests Less Dust Climate Cooling

Desert dust aerosols affect Earths global energy balance through interactions with radiation, clouds, and ecosystems. But the magnitudes of these effects are so uncertain that it remains unclear whether atmospheric dust has a net warming or cooling effect on global climate. Consequently, it is still uncertain whether large changes in atmospheric dust loading over the past century have slowed or accelerated anthropogenic climate change, and the climate impact of possible future alterations in dust loading is similarly disputed. Here we use an integrative analysis of dust aerosol sizes and abundance to constrain the climatic impact of dust through direct interactions with radiation. Using a combination of observational, experimental, and model data, we find that atmospheric dust is substantially coarser than represented in current climate models. Since coarse dust warms global climate, the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) is likely less cooling than the 0.4 W m superscript 2 estimated by models in a current ensemble. We constrain the dust DRE to -0.20 (-0.48 to +0.20) W m superscript 2, which suggests that the dust DRE produces only about half the cooling that current models estimate, and raises the possibility that dust DRE is actually net warming the planet.

Atmospheric chemistry↗
NASA NTRS2018

PACE Technical Report Series, Volume 4: Cloud Retrievals in the PACE Mission: PACE Science Team Consensus Document

Earth is a complex dynamical system exhibiting continuous change in its atmosphere, ocean,and surface elements. Nearly all (99.97%) of the energy driving these systems is linked to the Sun. Measurements of reflected sunlight contain a unique signature of wavelength-specific scattering and absorption interactions occurring between incoming solar energy and atmospheric (molecules, aerosols,clouds) and surface features Clouds can affect significantly both shortwave and long wave radiation, depending on altitude/vertical structure, thermodynamic phase, and optical properties. Low, warm, and optically thick clouds predominantly have a cooling effect, while high, cold, optically thin clouds can cause warming by absorbing warmer radiation emitted from the surface and lower atmosphere.When the net difference between outgoing and incoming solar radiation is matched by the net infrared radiation emitted to space, the Earth's climate is in radiative balance. While radiative forcing components (GHGs, aerosols - direct and indirect) contribute to a net radiative imbalance, climate sensitivity is ultimately determined by the contribution of various system feed backs. The role of cloud feedback in a warming climate is currently the largest inter-model uncertainty in climate sensitivity and therefore in climate prediction [Bony and Dufresne 2005]. A comprehensive understanding of current cloud propertiesand dynamic/microphysical processes requires a global perspective from satellites.

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE)↗
NASA NTRS1993

Remote sensing estimates of cirrus particle size for tropical and midlatitude cirrus: Hexagonal crystals and ice spheres

A large discrepancy exists in current estimates of a mean cirrus particle size appropriate for calculations of the effects of these ice clouds on solar and thermal infrared radiative fluxes. For spheres with large size parameter (x = (2 pi r / lambda) is greater than 30, where r is particle radius), and moderate absorption (n(sup i) x less than 1, where n(sup i) is imaginary index of refraction for ice), the optimal effective particle radius is given by: r(sub e) = integral of r(exp 3)n(r)dr / integral of r(exp 2)n(r)dr. For the remote sensing of cirrus particle size at wavelengths of 0.83, 1.65, and 2.21 mu m, a 50 mu m ice sphere would have a size parameter of about 200, and values of n(sup i) x of 0, 0.045, and 0.06, satisfying the above conditions. However, while r(sub e) is a well-defined parameter for spheres, this cross-section area-weighted particle radius can only be extended to non-spherical particles by defining some equivalent sphere, typically an equivalent volume or equivalent cross-section area sphere. Using equivalent volume spheres, values of r(sub e) obtained over Lake Michigan on October 28, 1986, during FIRE phase I varied from 200 mu m (King Air 2D Imaging probes) to 60 mu m (Landsat reflectances at 0.83, 1.65, and 2.2 mu m), to 25 mu m (HIS spectrometer thermal emission between 8 and 12 mu m). Three major uncertainties were identified in this comparison: small ice particles missed by the 2D-C aircraft probes, uncertain ice refractive index, and uncertainties in the single scatter albedos and scattering phase functions used in the radiative calculations. Since the first FIRE cirrus results, advances have been made in all three areas. The present paper reports on improvements in the radiative modeling of ice particles at 0.83, 1.65, and 2.21 mu m wavelengths appropriate for comparisons to Landsat Thematic Mapper data. The paper also includes new results for Landsat observations of ice clouds in the eastern and western tropical Pacific.

Wielicki, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Determination of cloud parameters from infrared sounder data

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) plan is concerned with the need to develop a uniform global cloud climatology as part of a broad research program on climate processes. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) has been approved as the first project of the WCRP. The ISCCP has the basic objective to collect and analyze satellite radiance data to infer the global distribution of cloud radiative properties in order to improve the modeling of cloud effects on climate. Research is conducted to explore an algorithm for retrieving cloud properties by utilizing the available infrared sounder data from polar-orbiting satellites. A numerical method is developed for computing cloud top heights, amount, and emissivity on the basis of a parameterized infrared radiative transfer equation for cloudy atmospheres. Theoretical studies were carried out by considering a synthetic atmosphere.

Yeh, H.-Y. M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

The Influence of Aerosols on the Shortwave Cloud Radiative Forcing from North Pacific Oceanic Clouds: Results from the Cloud Indirect Forcing Experiment (CIFEX)

Aerosols over the Northeastern Pacific Ocean enhance the cloud drop number concentration and reduce the drop size for marine stratocumulus and cumulus clouds. These microphysical effects result in brighter clouds, as evidenced by a combination of aircraft and satellite observations. In-situ measurements from the Cloud Indirect Forcing Experiment (CIFEX) indicate that the mean cloud drop number concentration in low clouds over the polluted marine boundary layer is greater by 53/cu cm compared to clean clouds, and the mean cloud drop effective radius is smaller by 4 microns. We link these in-situ measurements of cloud modification by aerosols, for the first time, with collocated satellite broadband radiative flux observations from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) to show that these microphysical effects of aerosols enhance the top-of-atmosphere cooling by -9.9+/-4.3 W/sq m for overcast conditions.

Wilcox, Eric M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Comparison of the Dispersion of the Mt. Pinatubo and El Chichon Stratospheric Aerosol Clouds

Insights into stratospheric transport and the climatic effects of large volcanic eruptions can be obtained by studying the dispersion of two of the largest volcanic eruptions this century, Mt. Pinatubo and El Chichon. Although both eruptions were located between 15 and 20 N latitude, and occurred either in spring or early summer (April vs June), the two volcanic clouds evolved differently in terms of dispersion of the volcanic aerosols. The El Chichon cloud stayed essentially confined to between 30 N and the equator until fall season following the eruption, whereas the Mt. Pinatubo cloud spread more rapidly into the southern hemisphere. Three dimensional stratospheric interactive tracer simulations for the particular years of the eruptions are reported. Radiative heating of the volcanic clouds due to upwelling IR radiation from the troposphere is important for understanding the dispersion of the volcanic aerosols, especially for Mt. Pinatubo. However, radiative heating alone does not explain the qualitative difference in meridional dispersion of the two volcanic clouds. The rate at which the aerosol clouds are sheared apart by wind shear limits the effectiveness of the radiative heating in producing meridional dispersion, and the wind shear is a function of the particular year of each eruption.

Young, R. E.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Aquaplanets as a Framework for Examination of Aerosol Effects

Although fundamental to the planetary radiative balance, aerosol impacts are highly uncertain in climate simulations because of the uneven distribution of aerosol sources and the complex interactions with radiation and clouds that are difficult to represent in climate models. This study proposes that aquaplanet configurations represent an idealized framework to investigate aerosol effects. As a simple demonstration, a series of aquaplanet simulations with the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 shows that the spatial distribution of aerosol emissions changes the aerosol effective radiative forcing even with unchanged total emissions. Some statistical properties of the simulations are presented to show that relatively short model integrations yield robust results. Much of the aerosol effect is shown to arise from aerosol–cloud interactions, especially through rapid adjustments associated with the aerosol lifetime effect that alter the cloud optical thickness.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Solar geoengineering may not prevent strong warming from direct effects of CO2 on stratocumulus cloud cover

Discussions of countering global warming with solar geoengineering assume that warming owing to rising greenhouse gas concentrations can be compensated by artificially reducing the amount of sunlight Earth absorbs. However, here we show that solar geoengineering may not be fail-safe to prevent global warming because CO2 has direct effects on cloud cover: it reduces cloud cover by modulating the longwave radiative cooling within the atmosphere, which is not mitigated by solar geoengineering. We use high-resolution simulations of clouds to show that under a sustained solar geoengineering scenario, the direct CO2 effects may lead to loss of subtropical stratocumulus clouds at concentrations above 1700~ppm. Because stratocumulus clouds cover large swaths of subtropical oceans and cool Earth by reflecting incident sunlight, their loss would trigger strong (about 5 K) global warming. Thus, the results highlight that, at least in an extreme scenario, solar geoengineering may be incapable to counter greenhouse-gas driven global warming.

Schneider, Tapio↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Path to Improving Simulated Properties of Low Clouds over the Beaufort Sea using Airborne In Situ Observations of Subgrid-Scale Variability

Arctic low clouds influence the evolution of the Arctic system through their effects on radiative fluxes, boundary layer mixing, stability, turbulence, humidity, and precipitation. Unfortunately, atmospheric models and retrospective analysis (reanalysis) products struggle to accurately simulate the occurrence and properties of low clouds in the Arctic. One of the main reasons for this problem are the possible unrealistic assumptions that models/reanalyses make about the subgrid-scale (SGS) variability of meteorological properties, as well as the relationship between SGS variability and grid-scale (GS) cloud properties. We utilize cloud and thermodynamic data of low level (primarily) liquid clouds collected from two aircraft campaigns conducted over the Beaufort Sea to better understand and characterize this problem. Examining data from the September 2014 Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) airborne campaign and the 1998 First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE)–Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE) reveals that GS cloud water variability is closely related with SGS distribution of total water (i.e. water vapor + cloud water). We examine the influence of three assumed SGS parameters on the estimation of GS cloud water: the width of the SGS PDF of total water (ΔQT), the shape of the SGS PDF, and the critical saturation ratio (Scrit), which partitions the SGS PDF into water that is available or not for conversion to cloud water. Both Scrit and ΔQT influence predicted GS cloud water strongly. ARISE and FIRE-ACE disagree somewhat in the details, but both campaigns support the possibility that more realistic representations of these two parameters may lead to more realistic GS cloud water. In particular, both parameters are sensitive to GS relative humidity, and so we examine the effects of allowing these quantities to vary as an empirically-derived linear function of GS relative humidity. In contrast, the shape of the PDF has little effect on the predicted cloud water – a surprising result that merits additional investigation.

J Brant Dodson↗
NASA NTRS1988

Detection of the 2(20) to 2(21) transition of HDO in Orion A - Evidence for dense clumped gas in the hot core

Results of the first detection of the 10.3 GHz 2(20) to 2(21) transition of HDO in Orion A are presented. Two components of OMC-1 have been identified, a hot core and a spike component associated with the compact molecular ridge cloud. The hot core is modeled as having an effective radiation temperature of 350 K and an HDO column density of 8 x 10 to the 16th/sq cm. The spike component is best fitted by a column density in HDO of about 6 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm. The present data are consistent with clumping and with cloud collision models of maser excitation.

Petuchowski, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Four years of global cirrus cloud statistics using HIRS

Trends in global upper-tropospheric transmissive cirrus cloud cover are beginning to emerge from a four-year cloud climatology using NOAA polar-orbiting High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) multispectral data. Cloud occurrence, height, and effective emissivity are determined with the CO2 slicing technique on the four years of data (June 1989-May 1993). There is a global preponderance of transmissive high clouds, 42% on the average; about three-fourths of these are above 500 hPa and presumed to be cirrus. In the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a high frequency of cirrus (greater than 50%) is found at all times; a modest seasonal movement tracks the sun. Large seasonal changes in cloud cover occur over the oceans in the storm belts at midlatitudes; the concentrations of these clouds migrate north and south with the seasons following the progressions of the subtropical highs (anticyclones). More cirrus is found in the summer than in the winter in each hemisphere. A significant change in cirrus cloud cover occurs in 1991, the third year of the study. Cirrus observations increase from 35% to 43% of the data, a change of eight percentage points. Other cloud forms, opaque to terrestrial radiation, decerase by nearly the same amount. Most of the increase is thinner cirrus with infrared optical depths below 0.7. The increase in cirrus happens at the same time as the 1991-92 El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The cirrus changes occur at the start of the ENSO and persist into 1993 in contrast to other climatic indicators that return to near pre-ENSO and volcanic levels in 1993.

Wylie, Donald P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Simulations of the effects of water vapor, cloud liquid water, and ice on AMSU moisture channel brightness temperatures

Radiative transfer simulations are performed to determine how water vapor and nonprecipitating cloud liquid water and ice particles within typical midlatitude atmospheres affect brightness temperatures T(sub B)'s of moisture sounding channels used in the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and AMSU-like instruments. The purpose is to promote a general understanding of passive top-of-atmosphere T(sub B)'s for window frequencies at 23.8, 89.0, and 157.0 GHz, and water vapor frequencies at 176.31, 180.31, and 182.31 GHz by documenting specific examples. This is accomplished through detailed analyses of T(sub B)'s for idealized atmospheres, mostly representing temperate conditions over land. Cloud effects are considered in terms of five basic properties: droplet size distribution, phase, liquid or ice water content, altitude, and thickness. Effects on T(sub B) of changing surface emissivity also are addressed. The brightness temperature contribution functions are presented as an aid to physically interpreting AMSU T(sub B)'s. Both liquid and ice clouds impact the T(sub B)'s in a variety of ways. The T(sub B)'s at 23.8 and 89 GHz are more strongly affected by altostratus liquid clouds than by cirrus clouds for equivalent water paths. In contrast, channels near 157 and 183 GHz are more strongly affected by ice clouds. Higher clouds have a greater impact on 157- and 183-GHz T(sub B)'s than do lower clouds. Clouds depress T(sub B)'s of the higher-frequency channels by suppressing, but not necessarily obscuring, radiance contributions from below. Thus, T(sub B)'s are less closely associated with cloud-top temperatures than are IR radiometric temperatures. Water vapor alone accounts for up to 89% of the total attenuation by a midtropospheric liquid cloud for channels near 183 GHz. The Rayleigh approximation is found to be adequate for typical droplet size distributions; however, Mie scattering effects from liquid droplets become important for droplet size distribution functions with modal radii greater than 20 micrometers near 157 and 183 GHz, and greater than 30-40 micrometers at 89 GHz. This is due mainly to the relatively small concentrations of droplets much larger than the mode radius. Orographic clouds and tropical cumuli have been observed to contain droplet size distributions with mode radii in the 30-40 micrometers range. Thus, as new instruments bridge the gap between microwave and infrared to frequencies even higher than 183 GHz, radiative transfer modelers are cautioned to explicitly address scattering characteristics of such clouds.

Muller, Bradley M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Simple Models of the Spatial Distribution of Cloud Radiative Properties for Remote Sensing Studies

This project aimed to assess the degree to which estimates of three-dimensional cloud structure can be inferred from a time series of profiles obtained at a point. The work was motivated by the desire to understand the extent to which high-frequency profiles of the atmosphere (e.g. ARM data streams) can be used to assess the magnitude of non-plane parallel transfer of radiation in thc atmosphere. We accomplished this by performing an observing system simulation using a large-eddy simulation and a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model. We define the 3D effect as the part of the radiative transfer that isn't captured by one-dimensional radiative transfer calculations. We assess the magnitude of the 3D effect in small cumulus clouds by using a fine-scale cloud model to simulate many hours of cloudiness over a continental site. We then use a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model to compute the broadband shortwave fluxes at the surface twice, once using the complete three-dimensional radiative transfer F(sup 3D), and once using the ICA F (sup ICA); the difference between them is the 3D effect given.

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