Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century
Downward surface solar radiation (SSR) trends for the first decade of the 2000s were computed using a radiative transfer model and satellite and reanalysis input data and were validated against measurements from the reference global station networks Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) and Baseline...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/3/308 |
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| author | Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou Eleftherios Ioannidis Marios-Bruno Korras-Carraca Maria Gavrouzou Christos D. Papadimas Christos Matsoukas Nikolaos Benas Angeliki Fotiadi Martin Wild Ilias Vardavas |
| author_facet | Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou Eleftherios Ioannidis Marios-Bruno Korras-Carraca Maria Gavrouzou Christos D. Papadimas Christos Matsoukas Nikolaos Benas Angeliki Fotiadi Martin Wild Ilias Vardavas |
| author_sort | Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Downward surface solar radiation (SSR) trends for the first decade of the 2000s were computed using a radiative transfer model and satellite and reanalysis input data and were validated against measurements from the reference global station networks Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) and Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). Under all-sky conditions, in spite of a somewhat patchy structure of global dimming and brightening (GDB), an overall dimming was found that is weaker in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere (−2.2 and −3.1 W m<sup>−2</sup>, respectively, over the 2001−2009 period). Dimming is observed over both land and ocean in the two hemispheres, but it is more remarkable over land areas of the Southern Hemisphere. The post-2000 dimming is found to have been primarily caused by clouds, and secondarily by aerosols, with total cloud cover contributing −1.4 W m<sup>−2</sup> and aerosol optical thickness −0.7 W m<sup>−2</sup> to the global average dimming of −2.65 W m<sup>−2</sup>. The evaluation of the model-computed GDB against BSRN and GEBA measurements indicates a good agreement, with the same trends for 65% and 64% of the examined stations, respectively. The obtained model results are in line with other studies for specific world regions and confirm the occurrence of an overall solar dimming over the globe during the first decade of 21st century. This post-2000 dimming has succeeded the global brightening observed in the 1990s and points to possible impacts on the ongoing global warming and climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:02:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53b8c71f78cb47f8bb7afaf359eb6a0d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:02:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-53b8c71f78cb47f8bb7afaf359eb6a0d2022-12-21T19:16:40ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-03-0111330810.3390/atmos11030308atmos11030308Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st CenturyNikolaos Hatzianastassiou0Eleftherios Ioannidis1Marios-Bruno Korras-Carraca2Maria Gavrouzou3Christos D. Papadimas4Christos Matsoukas5Nikolaos Benas6Angeliki Fotiadi7Martin Wild8Ilias Vardavas9Laboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, GreeceLaboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, GreeceLaboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, GreeceLaboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, GreeceLaboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, GreeceDepartment of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, GreeceR & D Satellite Observations Department, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), 3730 AE De Bilt, The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Engineering, University of Patras, 74148 Agrinio, GreeceInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physics, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, GreeceDownward surface solar radiation (SSR) trends for the first decade of the 2000s were computed using a radiative transfer model and satellite and reanalysis input data and were validated against measurements from the reference global station networks Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) and Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). Under all-sky conditions, in spite of a somewhat patchy structure of global dimming and brightening (GDB), an overall dimming was found that is weaker in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere (−2.2 and −3.1 W m<sup>−2</sup>, respectively, over the 2001−2009 period). Dimming is observed over both land and ocean in the two hemispheres, but it is more remarkable over land areas of the Southern Hemisphere. The post-2000 dimming is found to have been primarily caused by clouds, and secondarily by aerosols, with total cloud cover contributing −1.4 W m<sup>−2</sup> and aerosol optical thickness −0.7 W m<sup>−2</sup> to the global average dimming of −2.65 W m<sup>−2</sup>. The evaluation of the model-computed GDB against BSRN and GEBA measurements indicates a good agreement, with the same trends for 65% and 64% of the examined stations, respectively. The obtained model results are in line with other studies for specific world regions and confirm the occurrence of an overall solar dimming over the globe during the first decade of 21st century. This post-2000 dimming has succeeded the global brightening observed in the 1990s and points to possible impacts on the ongoing global warming and climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/3/308surface solar radiationclimatedimmingbrighteningmodelstationssatellite data |
| spellingShingle | Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou Eleftherios Ioannidis Marios-Bruno Korras-Carraca Maria Gavrouzou Christos D. Papadimas Christos Matsoukas Nikolaos Benas Angeliki Fotiadi Martin Wild Ilias Vardavas Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century Atmosphere surface solar radiation climate dimming brightening model stations satellite data |
| title | Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century |
| title_full | Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century |
| title_fullStr | Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century |
| title_short | Global Dimming and Brightening Features during the First Decade of the 21st Century |
| title_sort | global dimming and brightening features during the first decade of the 21st century |
| topic | surface solar radiation climate dimming brightening model stations satellite data |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/3/308 |
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