Physics
Scientific paper
Jun 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998georl..25.1899p&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 25, Issue 11, p. 1899-1902
Physics
10
Meteorology And Atmospheric Dynamics: Radiative Processes, Meteorology And Atmospheric Dynamics: Theoretical Modeling, Meteorology And Atmospheric Dynamics: Climatology
Scientific paper
A 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model is used to demonstrate the importance of cloud shape and water vapor distribution on narrow-band solar absorption at 0.93 and 2.0 μm. Diurnally averaged absorption for wavy-topped broken cloud fields can exceed that based on conventional climate model assumptions (plane-parallel cloud geometry and an unsaturated water vapor distribution in gaps between cloud elements) by 2-10% of the top-of-atmosphere insolation. Plane-parallel clouds often underestimate the absorption by non-flat-top clouds, particularly at 2.0 μm and large solar zenith angles. Ambiguities in assigning the above-cloud water vapor profile create uncertainties in the absorption comparisons between the plane-parallel and non-flat-top clouds, which increase with solar zenith angle and may be as large as 5 to 8%. A thin saturated water vapor layer (0.4 km) above the cloud top systematically enhances column absorption, the magnitude depends on cloud altitude and wavelength. Thus, realistic 3-D distributions of cloud shape, brokenness and water vapor are needed to quantify the role of clouds in excess absorption.
Podgorny Igor A.
Ramanathan Veerabhadran
Vogelmann Andrew M.
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