An atlas of total outgoing long-wave radiation and of short-wave reflectances from Nimbus II observations
Atlas of total outgoing long-wave radiation and of short-wave reflectances from Nimbus II
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Atlas of total outgoing long-wave radiation and of short-wave reflectances from Nimbus II
Satellite measured albedo and long wave radiation study of Indian monsoons
Characterization studies were performed on flight spare ERB wide field of view Earth flux sensors. Field of view sensitivity profiles were determined for total energy sensors with and without painted baffles. Similarly, sensors with filter domes were also characterized in terms of field of view. The transient response of sensors with filter domes was determined for both long wave and short wave radiation. Long wave radiation interacts directly with the quartz dome causing undesired responses. While short wave radiation was shown not to interact with the domes, modules as a whole exhibited a secondary response to bursts of short wave radiation indicative of a heating mechanism. How the results of this characterization can or should be applied to the data emanating from these sensors on ERB-6 and 7 is outlined.
The estimation of downward long-wave radiation (DLR) at the surface is very important for the understanding of the Earth’s radiative budget with implications in surface–atmosphere exchanges, climate variability, and global warming. Theoretical radiative transfer and observationally based studies identify the crucial role of clouds in modulating the temporal and spatial variability of DLR. In this study, a new machine learning algorithm that uses multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) and the combination of near-surface meteorological data with satellite cloud information is proposed. The new algorithm is compared with the current operational formulation used by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Satellite Application Facility on Land Surface Analysis (LSA-SAF). Both algorithms use near-surface temperature and dewpoint temperature along with total column water vapor from the latest European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis ERA5 and satellite cloud information from the Meteosat Second Generation. The algorithms are trained and validated using both ECMWF-ERA5 and DLR acquired from 23 ground stations as part of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. Results show that the MARS algorithm generally improves DLR estimation in comparison with other model estimates, particularly when trained with observations. When considering all the validation data, root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 18.76, 23.55, and 22.08 W·m –2 are obtained for MARS, operational LSA-SAF, and ERA5, respectively. The added value of using the satellite cloud information is accessed by comparing with estimates driven by ERA5 total cloud cover, showing an increase of 17% of the RMSE. The consistency of MARS estimate is also tested against an independent dataset of 52 ground stations (from FLUXNET2015), further supporting the good performance of the proposed model.
The sensitiveness of white coated thermistor sensors and non-sensitiveness of the gold coated over white thermistor sensors (which have been manufactured by a vacuum evaporation process) to long wave radiation were ascertained by some simple experiments in-room and also by analyses of some results of experimental soundings. From results of analyses on the temperature discrepancies caused by long wave radiation, the possibility to sound the atmospheric ozone partial pressure by a radiosonde equipped with two kinds of sensors, sensitive and non-sensitive to the long wave radiation was suggested, and the test results of the newly developed software for the deduction of ozone partial pressure in upper layers was also shown. However, it was found that the following is the necessary condition to realize the purpose. The sounding should be made by a radiosonde equipped with three sensors, instead of two, one being non-sensitive to the long wave radiation perfectly, and the other two also non-sensitive partially to the downward one, with two different angles of exposure upward. It is essential for the realization of the purpose to get two different values of temperature discrepancies simultaneously observed by the three sensors mentioned above and to avoid the troublesome effects of the upward long wave radiation.
Fields of outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) have been computed using geophysical parameters retrieved from analysis of HIRS2/MSU sounding data as input to a modified version of the Wu-Kaplan radiation code used in the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres fourth-order general circulation model. Monthly mean results for 1979 agree with monthly mean OLR fields measured by the Nimbus 7 earth radiation budget (ERB) broadband narrow field of view instrument within standard deviations of 6.3 W/sq m but with a global mean bias of 8.0 W/sq m. Results are shown for July 1979. The areas of disagreement between high-resolution infrared radiation sounder OLR and ERB OLR are small but spatially coherent with patterns which may be related to sampling differences. The difference patterns are much less extensive than those between OLR derived from advanced very high resolution radiometer 11-micron observations and ERB OLR.
Global precipitation estimates using satellite data are derived using difference fields of outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR). The difference fields consist of clear OLR minus cloudy OLR, which is a measure of long-wave cloud radiative forcing at the top of the earth-atmosphere system; and clear daytime OLR minus clear night-time OLR, which is a measure of the diurnal variation of surface heating. All geophysical parameters used to compute OLR are derived from an analysis of the HIRS2/MSU sounding data. The derived global precipitation estimates show good agreement with collocated raingage data over land.
Equations, computer techniques, and model calculations of long wave radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres
The results of calculating the fluxes of outgoing long wave radiation, taking cloud cover into account, on the basis of mean monthly data are described. A three-level and a nine-level model of the atmosphere is used, the latter with a one-hundred millibar level as upper limit. Data used in the calculations was collected over many years.
Tiros medium resolution scanning radiometer data from short and long wavelengths used to estimate cloud top temperatures, cloud cover, emissivity, and equivalent black body temperatures
An efficient broad band longwave radiation code for CO2 and H2O and for O3 was developed. There are two bands each in the CO2 and H2O absorption regions, one for the band center and one for the band wings. One band covers O3 absorption and the overlapping H2O continuum. Overlap is also considered in the CO2 region, and there is H2O continuum absorption where applicable. Clouds are considered nonreflecting in the longwave. Therefore partial cover or partial transmission can be allowed for, by considering a cloud fraction at each atmospheric level. A special subroutine was written to allow for maximum or random overlap of clouds that may be used in the future. All algorithms were written with vectorization in mind with identical operations made for all horizontal grid points in a latitude circle. Where possible, operations are carried out covering the vertical grid points as well, yielding long vectors for efficient computations.
The diurnal variation of the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and its annual variation were studied using scanner products from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Data from the combination of sun synchronous polar orbiter NOAA-9 and mid-inclined precessing orbit Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), which provide the best diurnal global coverage, were used for the period of March 1985 to February 1986. Harmonic analysis was performed on monthly mean hourly OLR for both average sky and clear sky conditions in order to obtain the amplitude and phase of the OLR diurnal cycle. Large diurnal amplitudes are noticed mostly over desert regions. Over oceans, convectively active regions like the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) show noticeable diurnal variation compared to the rest of the regions. Annual variation of the OLR diurnal amplitude was compared with annual variation of the various earth radiation budget parameters. A good relationship was found between the OLR diurnal amplitude and the monthly mean net radiation and incoming solar radiation.
Dust aerosols consist on a variety of minerals with different physic and chemical properties. As such, they interact with short and long wave radiation, potentially form clouds, act as nutrients modulating biogeochemical cycles, or influence atmospheric chemistry, differently. Most current state-of-the-art Earth System Models (ESMs) neglect the complexity in dust composition, mainly due to computational constraints, but also to the existing uncertainties in the size resolved composition of parent soils, the resulting distribution of minerals in airborne dust, and the scarcity of observations to constrain them. Within this work, we assess the variability of global dust composition due to uncertainties in the characterization of the parent soil mineralogy. To that end, we consider two available global soil mineralogy atlases, developed by Claquin et al. (1999) –C1999- and Journet et al. (2014) –J2014-, which represent respectively 8 and 12 relevant minerals for climate (namely: illite, smectite/montmorillonite, kaolinite, calcite, gypsum, hematite, quartz, and feldspars in C1999, and those plus chlorite, vermiculite, goethite, and mica in J2014). Thanks to a recently developed feature of the MONARCH atmospheric-chemistry model, we are able to explicitly resolve the minerals’ atmospheric cycle. Therefore, we define two global experiments to assess changes on airborne dust composition attributed to the soil mineralogy assumptions and provide a measure of their variability. We also perform a preliminary evaluation of the global mineralogy results against available observations of mineral fractions in surface dust concentration. Our results will inform the climate modelling community about the potential variability in dust composition, an aspect that will gain relevance as ESMs continue growing in complexity and new processes to better characterize aerosols’ forcing or biogeochemical cycles are added. Further observational constraints, such as those that will derive from the EMIT NASA mission on soil composition or the FRAGMENT experimental campaigns on airborne dust characterization, will be key in the near future to improve our understanding of the impact of dust mineralogy on fundamental climate features.
The energy and radiation balance components were determined over three grass surfaces, located on the Streletskaya steppe during July 1991. The Bowen ratio energy balance method was used to determine the sensible and latent heat flux densities using six computer controlled systems. A total of 126 variables were sampled, including global, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation, long wave radiation (up and down), net radiation, photosynthetically active radiation above and below the vegetation, infrared surface temperatues, soil temperature and heat flow, air temperature and vapor pressure at two levels, wind speed and direction, and precipitation. The ranking of the sites from greatest to smallest for net radiation and latent heat flux density were preserve, mowed in 1990, and mowed in 1991. The ranking of the sites from greatest to smallest for sensible heat flux density were mowed in 1990, mowed in 1991, and preserve.
Although greenhouse gases absorb primarily long-wave radiation, they also absorb short-wave radiation. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of methane short-wave absorption, which enhances its stratospherically adjusted radiative forcing by up to ~ 15%. The corresponding climate impacts, however, have been only indirectly evaluated and thus remain largely unquantified. Here we present a systematic, unambiguous analysis using one model and separate simulations with and without methane short-wave absorption. We find that methane short-wave absorption counteracts ~30% of the surface warming associated with its long-wave radiative effects. An even larger impact occurs for precipitation as methane short-wave absorption offsets ~60% of the precipitation increase relative to its long-wave radiative effects. The methane short-wave-induced cooling is due largely to cloud rapid adjustments, including increased low-level clouds, which enhance the reflection of incoming short-wave radiation, and decreased high-level clouds, which enhance outgoing long-wave radiation. The cloud responses, in turn, are related to the profile of atmospheric solar heating and corresponding changes in temperature and relative humidity. Despite our findings, methane remains a potent contributor to global warming, and efforts to reduce methane emissions are vital for keeping global warming well below 2 °C above preindustrial values.
Using a physical approach, global ten-day mean long-wave cloud radiative forcing has been derived from satellite data for a period from January 1979 to May 1981. This forcing shows small (2 to 3 W/sq m) variations for diurnal, seasonal, and interannual time scales, even though the detailed structure of cloud fields may have considerable temporal and spatial variability. The amplitude of variations of the hemispheric mean is much larger than the global mean; the largest variation is over land areas (20 W/sq m) of the Southern Hemisphere, and the smallest variation is over the ocean (6 W/wq m) of the Northern Hemisphere.
Outgoing long & short wave radiant fluxes onto surfaces in ionosphere
A zonally averaged climate model is used to investigate the effects of different evaporation parameterizations on climate sensitivity to solar constant variations. The model is based on the annual mean zonally averaged hemispheric climate model of Ohring and Adler (1978), with some modifications on the heating parameterizations. The dynamic model utilizes the two-level quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity equations. The heating processes are related to solar radiation, long-wave radiation, convection, evaporation, latent heat release, and ocean transport. Evaporation parameterization has been improved by using a nonlinear formulation in which the Bowen ratio is determined by the vertical gradients of water vapor and temperature near the earth's surface.