Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations
This paper examines cloud-related variations of atmospheric aerosols that occur in partly cloudy regions containing low-altitude clouds. The goal is to better understand aerosol behaviors and to help better represent the radiative effects of aerosols on climate. For this, the paper presents a statis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1151 |
| _version_ | 1797540914118262784 |
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| author | Tamás Várnai Alexander Marshak |
| author_facet | Tamás Várnai Alexander Marshak |
| author_sort | Tamás Várnai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper examines cloud-related variations of atmospheric aerosols that occur in partly cloudy regions containing low-altitude clouds. The goal is to better understand aerosol behaviors and to help better represent the radiative effects of aerosols on climate. For this, the paper presents a statistical analysis of a multi-month global dataset that combines data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite instruments with data from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) global reanalysis. Among other findings, the results reveal that near-cloud enhancements in lidar backscatter (closely related to aerosol optical depth) are larger (1) over land than ocean by 35%, (2) near optically thicker clouds by substantial amounts, (3) for sea salt than for other aerosol types, with the difference from dust reaching 50%. Finally, the study found that mean lidar backscatter is higher near clouds not because of large-scale variations in meteorological conditions, but because of local processes associated with individual clouds. The results help improve our understanding of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions and our ability to represent them in climate models and other atmospheric models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-84aac4941306422393fecf8b2ab8f868 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-84aac4941306422393fecf8b2ab8f8682023-11-21T10:56:00ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-03-01136115110.3390/rs13061151Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model SimulationsTamás Várnai0Alexander Marshak1Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAThis paper examines cloud-related variations of atmospheric aerosols that occur in partly cloudy regions containing low-altitude clouds. The goal is to better understand aerosol behaviors and to help better represent the radiative effects of aerosols on climate. For this, the paper presents a statistical analysis of a multi-month global dataset that combines data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite instruments with data from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) global reanalysis. Among other findings, the results reveal that near-cloud enhancements in lidar backscatter (closely related to aerosol optical depth) are larger (1) over land than ocean by 35%, (2) near optically thicker clouds by substantial amounts, (3) for sea salt than for other aerosol types, with the difference from dust reaching 50%. Finally, the study found that mean lidar backscatter is higher near clouds not because of large-scale variations in meteorological conditions, but because of local processes associated with individual clouds. The results help improve our understanding of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions and our ability to represent them in climate models and other atmospheric models.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1151aerosolcloudsatellitetransition zone |
| spellingShingle | Tamás Várnai Alexander Marshak Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations Remote Sensing aerosol cloud satellite transition zone |
| title | Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations |
| title_full | Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations |
| title_short | Analysis of Near-Cloud Changes in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Satellite Observations and Global Model Simulations |
| title_sort | analysis of near cloud changes in atmospheric aerosols using satellite observations and global model simulations |
| topic | aerosol cloud satellite transition zone |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1151 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tamasvarnai analysisofnearcloudchangesinatmosphericaerosolsusingsatelliteobservationsandglobalmodelsimulations AT alexandermarshak analysisofnearcloudchangesinatmosphericaerosolsusingsatelliteobservationsandglobalmodelsimulations |