考虑气压的晴空大气下行长波辐射参数化方案及其适用性分析

基于Prata晴空大气下行长波辐射参数化方案,针对其在高原地区及可降水量较小地区理论精度较差的缺点,考虑不同高度的大气柱发射的长波辐射量不同,提出了三种考虑气压的大气下行长波辐射参数化方案,通过全球ERA-5再分析数据进行最小二乘拟合确定经验常数并在全球不同区域对其适用性进行了分析.模拟结果表明,考虑气压的参数化方案有...     

长波区间太阳辐射对气候模拟的影响

长波区间的太阳辐射在气候模式中往往被忽略。利用国家气候中心BCC_AGCM2.0.1大气环流模式,采用矩阵算子辐射传输算法,研究了长波区间太阳辐射对气候模式辐射通量和温度模拟结果的影响。结果表明,以ISCCP和CERES辐射资料为标准,考虑长波区间太阳辐射后,长波区间晴空大气地表向下辐射通量平均误差减小2.05 W/m2,均方根误差减少1.29 W/m2;长波区间晴空大气模式顶向上辐射通量平均误差减小0.70 W/m2,均方根误差减小0.21 W/m2;长波区间有云大气地表向下辐射通量平均误差减小1.38 W/m2,均方根误差减小1.03 W/m2;长波区间有云大气模式顶向上辐射通量平均误差减小0.99 W/m2,均方根误差减小0.30 W/m2。以ECMWF再分析资料为标准,考虑长波区间太阳辐射后,赤道地区上对流层—下平流层区域温度的冷偏差得到改善,对流层顶温度平均误差减小0.27 K,均方根误差减小0.25 K。     

The representation of tropical upper tropospheric water in EC Earth V2

Tropical upper tropospheric humidity, clouds, and ice water content, as well as outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), are evaluated in the climate model EC Earth with the aid of satellite retrievals. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Microwave Limb Sounder together provide good coverage of relative humidity. EC Earth’s relative humidity is in fair agreement with these observations. CloudSat and CALIPSO data are combined to provide cloud fractions estimates throughout the altitude region considered (500–100?hPa). EC Earth is found to overestimate the degree of cloud cover above 200?hPa and underestimate it below. Precipitating and non-precipitating EC Earth ice definitions are combined to form a complete ice water content. EC Earth’s ice water content is below the uncertainty range of CloudSat above 250?hPa, but can be twice as high as CloudSat’s estimate in the melting layer. CERES data show that the model underestimates the impact of clouds on OLR, on average with about 9?W?m^?2. Regionally, EC Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation can be ～20?W?m^?2 higher than the observation. A comparison to ERA-Interim provides further perspectives on the model’s performance. Limitations of the satellite observations are emphasised and their uncertainties are, throughout, considered in the analysis. Evaluating multiple model variables in parallel is a more ambitious approach than is customary.     

Parameterisation of incoming longwave radiation over glacier surfaces in the semiarid Andes of Chile

A good understanding of radiation fluxes is important for calculating energy, and hence, mass exchange at glacier surfaces. This study evaluates incoming longwave radiation measured at two nearby glacier stations in the high Andes of the Norte Chico region of Chile. These data are the first published records of atmospheric longwave radiation measurements in this region. Nine previously published optimised parameterisations for clear sky emissivity all produced results with a root mean square error (RMSE) ~20 W?m^?2 and bias within ±5 W m^?2, which is inline with findings from other regions. Six optimised parameterisations for incoming longwave in all sky conditions were trialled for application to this site, five of which performed comparably well with RMSE on daytime data <18 W?m^?2 and bias within ±6 W?m^?2 when applied to the optimisation site and RMSE <20 W?m^?2 and bias within ±10 W m^?2 when applied to the validation site. The parameterisation proposed by Mölg et al. (J Glaciol 55:292-302, 2009) was selected for use in this region. Incorporating the proposed elevation modification into the equation reduced the bias in the modelled incoming longwave radiation for the validation site. It was found that applying the parameterisation optimised in the original work at Kilimanjaro produced good results at both the primary and validation site in this study, suggesting that this formulation may be robust for different high mountain regions.     

Simulation of Non-Homogeneous CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Its Impact on Regional Temperature in East Asia

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an important greenhouse gas that influences regional climate through disturbing the earth’s energy balance. The CO₂ concentrations are usually prescribed homogenously in most climate models and the spatiotemporal variations of CO₂ are neglected. To address this issue, a regional climate model (RegCM4) is modified to investigate the non-homogeneous distribution of CO₂ and its effects on regional longwave radiation flux and temperature in East Asia. One-year simulation is performed with prescribed surface CO₂ fluxes that include fossil fuel emission, biomass burning, air–sea exchange, and terrestrial biosphere flux. Two numerical experiments (one using constant prescribed CO₂ concentrations in the radiation scheme and the other using the simulated CO₂ concentrations that are spatially non-homogeneous) are conducted to assess the impact of non-homogeneous CO₂ on the regional longwave radiation flux and temperature. Comparison of CO₂ concentrations from the model with the observations from the GLOBALVIEW-CO₂ network suggests that the model can well capture the spatiotemporal patterns of CO₂ concentrations. Generally, high CO₂ mixing ratios appear in the heavily industrialized eastern China in cold seasons, which probably relates to intensive human activities. The accommodation of non-homogeneous CO₂ concentrations in the radiative transfer scheme leads to an annual mean change of–0.12 W m^–2 in total sky surface upward longwave flux in East Asia. The experiment with non-homogeneous CO₂ tends to yield a warmer lower troposphere. Surface temperature exhibits a maximum difference in summertime, ranging from–4.18 K to 3.88 K, when compared to its homogeneous counterpart. Our results indicate that the spatial and temporal distributions of CO₂ have a considerable impact on regional longwave radiation flux and temperature, and should be taken into account in future climate modeling.     

A hybrid technique for computing the monthly mean net longwave surface radiation over oceanic areas

Summary Global maps of the monthly mean net upward longwave radiation flux at the ocean surface have been obtained for April, July, October 1985 and January 1986. These maps were produced by blending information obtained from a combination of general circulation model cloud radiative forcing fields, the top-of-the-atmosphere cloud radiative forcing from ERBE and TOVS profiles and sea surface temperature on ISCCP C1 tapes. The fields are compatible with known meteorological regimes of atmospheric water vapor content and cloudiness. There is a vast area of high net upward longwave radiation flux (> 80 W m^–2) in the eastern Pacific Ocean throughout most of the year. Areas of low net upward longwave radiation flux (< 40 Wm^–2) are the tropical convective regions and extra tropical regions that tend to have persistent low cloud cover. The technique used in this study relies on GCM simulations and so is subject to some of the uncertainties associated with the model. However, all input information regarding temperature, moisture and cloud cover is from satellite data having near global coverage. This feature of the procedure alone warrants its consideration for further use in compiling global maps of the net longwave radiation at the surface over the oceans.With 9 Figures     

On the vertical profile of surface radiative fluxes in southwest Germany

Summary Vertical profile of surface radiative fluxes in an area of heterogeneous terrain in south-west Germany is presented. Main data sets utilized for the study were recorded during the REgio KLIma Projekt (REKLIP). Supporting observational data were provided by the German weather service and German geophysical consultant service. Elevation of the study sites ranged from 212 m a.s.l. to 1489 m a.s.l. From May to September, monthly mean albedo was generally low at the study sites, ranging from 19% to 24%. For the other months, monthly mean albedo lie between 22% and 25% at the lowland site but extended between 27% and 71% at the highly elevated mountain site. Following the altitudinal increase in surface albedo, net radiative flux and radiation efficiency declined with elevation at an annual mean of 1.15 Wm⁻²/100 m and 0.008/100 m respectively. Absorbed shortwave radiation and effective terrestrial radiation showed mean decline of 1.54 Wm⁻²/100 m and 0.34 Wm⁻²/100 m, respectively, with the mean sky-to-earth radiation deficit amounting to about 52 Wm⁻² for the lowland site and 73 Wm⁻² for the highest elevated site. Some empirical models which express shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes in terms of meteorological variables have been validated for the lowland and mountain sites. Monthly mean daily total estimates of solar radiation obtained from ?ngst?m-Prescott relation were quite consistent with observed values. Parameterisation of downward atmospheric radiation under all sky condition was achieved by extending Brutsaert clear sky atmospheric model. Relationship between outgoing longwave radiation and screen temperature at the study sites was best described by an exponential function unlike the linear relationship proposed by Monteith and Unsworth. Net radiative flux for the lowland and mountain sites has been expressed in terms of absorbed shortwave radiation, cloud amount and screen temperature. Received March 5, 2001 Revised October 29, 2001     

Comparison of human radiation exchange models in outdoor areas

Results from the radiation components of seven different human thermal exchange models/methods are compared. These include the Burt, COMFA, MENEX, OUT_SET* and RayMan models, the six-directional method and the new Park and Tuller model employing projected area factors (f _p) and effective radiation area factors (f _eff) determined from a sample of normal- and over-weight Canadian Caucasian adults. Input data include solar and longwave radiation measured during a clear summer day in southern Ontario. Variations between models came from differences in f _p and f _eff and different estimates of longwave radiation from the open sky. The ranges between models for absorbed solar, net longwave and net all-wave radiation were 164, 31 and 187?W?m^?2, respectively. These differentials between models can be significant in total human thermal exchange. Therefore, proper f _p and f _eff values should be used to make accurate estimation of radiation on the human body surface.     

应用HIRS/2仪器资料计算长波辐射通量

辐射收支是影响气候演变的基本因素,而长波辐射通量又是辐射收支的重要组成。由于地气系统红外辐射过程的复杂性,如何利用NOAA系列气象卫星资料精确快速地估计长波辐射通量,迄今还存在问题。本文从遥感方程出发,建立了卫星测得辐射率值和(HIRS/2测得)长波辐射通量的准解析函数关系。利用这种准解析函数和精选的NOAA-10 HIRS/2五个通道辐射率测值,提出了精确快速计算长波辐射通量的方法,并得到验证。     

The Influence Of Urban Canopy Configuration On Urban Albedo

We propose a calculation method for shortwave radiation flux and longwave radiation flux within the urban canopy and investigate the influence of urban canopy configuration on net radiation flux. In the assumed urban configuration, buildings of equal size are arranged in a regular lattice within the urban canopy. The net shortwave radiation flux and longwave radiation flux within the urban canopy were calculated by the photon tracking method based on the Monte Carlo method. The albedo value obtained by this method shows close agreement with experimental data, and the average sky view factor shows almost perfect agreement with the theoretical value. Moreover, we calculated the urban albedo for the urban canopy configuration including roads and building height distribution.%Moreover, we calculated net radiation within the urban canopy in %consideration of roads and building height distribution.We found that the sky view factor of the ground surface is high when building coverage is low, building height is low, open space by roads exists, and building height is non-uniform. Moreover, we found that the albedo value is high when building height is small, open space by roads is wide, and building height is uniform. The albedo value was found to vary in a complicated manner with change in building coverage.     

A Double-Canyon Radiation Scheme for Multi-Layer Urban Canopy Models

We develop a double-canyon radiation scheme (DCEP) for urban canopy models embedded in mesoscale numerical models based on the Building Effect Parametrization (BEP). The new scheme calculates the incoming and outgoing longwave and shortwave radiation for roof, wall and ground surfaces for an urban street canyon characterized by its street and building width, canyon length, and the building height distribution. The scheme introduces the radiative interaction of two neighbouring urban canyons allowing the full inclusion of roofs into the radiation exchange both inside the canyon and with the sky. In contrast to BEP, we also treat direct and diffuse shortwave radiation from the sky independently, thus allowing calculation of the effective parameters representing the urban diffuse and direct shortwave radiation budget inside the mesoscale model. Furthermore, we close the energy balance of incoming longwave and diffuse shortwave radiation from the sky, so that the new scheme is physically more consistent than the BEP scheme. Sensitivity tests show that these modifications are important for urban regions with a large variety of building heights. The evaluation against data from the Basel Urban Boundary Layer Experiment indicates a good performance of the DCEP when coupled with the regional weather and climate model COSMO-CLM.     

Performance of Goddard earth observing system GCM column radiation models under heterogeneous cloud conditions

We test the performance of the shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Column Radiation Models (CORAMs) of Chou and collaborators with heterogeneous cloud fields from a single-day global dataset produced by NCAR's Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) with a 2-D Cloud Resolving Model (CRM) installed in each column. The original SW version of the CORAM performs quite well compared to reference Independent Column Approximation (ICA) calculations for boundary fluxes (global error 4 W m⁻² for reflected flux), largely due to the success of a combined overlap and cloud scaling parameterization scheme. The absolute magnitude of errors relative to ICA are even smaller (global error 2 W m⁻² for outgoing flux) for the LW CORAM which applies similar overlap. The vertical distribution of heating and cooling within the atmosphere is also simulated quite well with daily averaged zonal errors always less than 0.3 K/day for SW and 0.6 K/day for LW heating (cooling) rates. The SW CORAM's performance improves by introducing a scheme that accounts for cloud inhomogeneity based on the Gamma Weighted Two Stream Approximation (GWTSA).These results suggest that previous studies demonstrating the inaccuracy of plane-parallel models may have unfairly focused on worst case scenarios, and that current radiative transfer algorithms in General Circulation Models (GCMs) may be more capable than previously thought in estimating realistic spatial and temporal averages of radiative fluxes, as long as they are provided with correct mean cloud profiles. However, even if the errors of our particular CORAMs are small, they seem to be systematic, and their impact can be fully assessed only with GCM climate simulations.     

Use of meteosat data for validation of the diurnal variation of the outgoing longwave radiation produced by ERBE

Radiative transfer calculations have been performed to demonstrate the usefulness of the Meteosat observations in the relative narrow-band of the water vapour absorption (WV, 5.7–7.1 μm) in addition to the observations in the atmospheric infrared window (IR, 10.5–12.5 μm) to deduce the integrated thermal outgoing longwave radiation (OLR). A statistical analysis of colocated and nearly simultaneous Meteosat and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) data has yielded regression coefficients for estimating the OLR with Meteosat data during the months of April and July 1985. These results have been used to study the mean diurnal variation of the outgoing longwave radiation. The results show that in some cases, because of inadequate time sampling, the form (and especially the phase) of the longwave (LW) diurnal cycle is incorrectly determined by ERBE, but that Meteosat data can improve the determination. In nearly all cases, such errors have little or no influence on the determination of monthly mean LW flux fields.     

On the use of a cloud modification factor for solar UV (290–385 nm) spectral range

Summary  Knowledge of ultraviolet radiation is necessary in different applications, in the absence of measurements, this radiometric flux must be estimated from available parameters. To compute this flux under all sky conditions one must consider the influence of clouds. Clouds are the largest modulators of the solar radiative flux reaching the Earth’s surface. The amount and type of cloud cover prevailing at a given time and location largely determines the amount and type of solar radiation received at the Earth’s surface. This cloud radiative effect is different for the different solar spectral bands. In this work, we analyse the cloud radiative effect over ultraviolet radiation (290–385 nm). This could be done by defining a cloud modification Factor. We have developed such cloud modification Factor considering two different types of clouds. The efficiency of the cloud radiative effect scheme has been tested in combination with a cloudless sky empirical model using independent data sets. The performance of the model has been tested in relation to its predictive capability of global ultraviolet radiation. For this purpose, data recorded at two radiometric stations are used. The first one is located at the University of Almería, a seashore location (36.83° N, 2.41° W, 20 m a.m.s.l.), while the second one is located at Granada (37.18° N, 3.58° W, 660 m a.m.s.l.), an inland location. The database includes hourly values of the relevant variables that cover the years 1993–94 in Almería and 1994–95 in Granada. Cloud cover information provided by the Spanish Meteorological Service has been include to compute the clouds radiative effect. After our study, it appears that the combination of an appropriate cloudless sky model with the cloud modification Factor scheme provides estimates of ultraviolet radiation with mean bias deviation of about 5% that is close to experimental errors. Comparisons with similar formulations of the cloud radiative effect over the whole solar spectrum provides evidence for the spectral dependency of the cloud radiative effect. Received November 15, 1999 Revised September 11, 2000     

Regional climate simulation with a high resolution GCM: surface radiative fluxes

The ability of a high resolution (T106) version of the ECHAM3 general circulation model to simulate regional scale surface radiative fluxes has been assessed using observations from a new compilation of worldwide instrumentally-measured surface fluxes (Global Energy Balance Archive, GEBA). The focus is on the European region where the highest density of observations is found, and their use for the validation of global and regional climate models is demonstrated. The available data allow a separate assessment of the simulated fluxes of surface shortwave, longwave, and net radiation for this region. In summer, the incoming shortwave radiation calculated by the ECHAM3/T106 model is overestimated by 45 W m^–2 over most of Europe, which implies a largely unrealistic forcing on the model surface scheme and excessive surface temperatures. In winter, too little incoming shortwave radiation reaches the model surface. Similar tendencies are found over large areas of the mid-latitudes. These biases are consistent with deficiencies in the simulation of cloud amount, relative humidity and clear sky radiative transfer. The incoming longwave radiation is underestimated at the European GEBA stations predominantly in summer. This largely compensates for the excessive shortwave flux, leading to annual mean net radiation values over Europe close to observations due to error cancellation, a feature already noted in the simulated global mean values in an earlier study. Furthermore, the annual cycle of the simulated surface net radiation is strongly affected by the deficiencies in the simulated incoming shortwave radiation. The high horizontal resolution of the GCM allows an assessment of orographically induced flux gradients based on observations from the European Alps. Although the model-calculated and observed flux fields substantially differ in their absolute values, several aspects of their gradients are realistically captured. The deficiencies identified in the model fields are generally consistent at most stations, indicating a high degree of representativeness of the measurements for their larger scale setting.     

Simulation of Non-Homogeneous CO_2 and Its Impact on Regional Temperature in East Asia

Carbon dioxide(CO_2) is an important greenhouse gas that influences regional climate through disturbing the earth's energy balance. The CO_2 concentrations are usually prescribed homogenously in most climate models and the spatiotemporal variations of CO_2 are neglected. To address this issue,a regional climate model(RegCM4) is modified to investigate the non-homogeneous distribution of CO_2 and its effects on regional longwave radiation flux and temperature in East Asia. One-year simulation is performed with prescribed surface CO_2 fluxes that include fossil fuel emission, biomass burning, air-sea exchange, and terrestrial biosphere flux. Two numerical experiments(one using constant prescribed CO_2 concentrations in the radiation scheme and the other using the simulated CO_2 concentrations that are spatially non-homogeneous) are conducted to assess the impact of non-homogeneous CO_2 on the regional longwave radiation flux and temperature. Comparison of CO_2 concentrations from the model with the observations from the GLOBALVIEW-CO_2 network suggests that the model can well capture the spatiotemporal patterns of CO_2 concentrations. Generally, high CO_2 mixing ratios appear in the heavily industrialized eastern China in cold seasons, which probably relates to intensive human activities. The accommodation of non-homogeneous CO_2 concentrations in the radiative transfer scheme leads to an annual mean change of -0.12 W m~(-2) in total sky surface upward longwave flux in East Asia. The experiment with non-homogeneous CO_2 tends to yield a warmer lower troposphere.Surface temperature exhibits a maximum difference in summertime, ranging from -4.18 K to 3.88 K, when compared to its homogeneous counterpart. Our results indicate that the spatial and temporal distributions of CO_2 have a considerable impact on regional longwave radiation flux and temperature, and should be taken into account in future climate modeling.     

不同形状冰晶权重假定对冰云光学和辐射特性的影响

在BCC_RAD辐射传输模式和包含多形状冰晶粒子的冰云光学性质参数化方案的基础上,详细分析了不同冰晶粒子权重选取对冰云光学和辐射特性的影响。结果显示,不同形状冰晶粒子权重的选取对长波带平均消光系数、单次散射比、不对称因子和短波带平均不对称因子均有较大的影响。冰晶粒子权重选取对长波辐射通量有很大影响:对长波向下辐射通量,权重选择不同可在云底处造成高达10.50 W/m2的差别;对长波向上辐射通量,权重选择不同可在云顶处造成高达15.05 W/m2的差别。冰晶粒子权重选择对短波辐射通量也存在较大影响:对短波向下辐射通量,权重选择不同可在云底处造成高达12.48 W/m2的差别;对短波向上辐射通量,权重选择不同可在云顶处造成高达10.23 W/m2的差别。冰晶粒子权重选择对长波加热率影响较大,在云顶处和云底处分别可达1.31和-2.06 K/d。研究表明,不同形状冰晶粒子权重的选取对冰云光学性质和辐射计算均有较大的影响,在长波区间尤其明显。      

Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation (CAR) ensemble modeling system: Overall accuracy and efficiency

The Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation (CAR) ensemble modeling system has recently been built to better understand cloud/aerosol/radiation processes and determine the uncertainties caused by different treatments of cloud/aerosol/radiation in climate models. The CAR system comprises a large scheme collection of cloud, aerosol, and radiation processes available in the literature, including those commonly used by the world's leading GCMs. In this study, detailed analyses of the overall accuracy and efficiency of the CAR system were performed. Despite the different observations used, the overall accuracies of the CAR ensemble means were found to be very good for both shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiation calculations. Taking the percentage errors for July 2004 compared to ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) data over (60°N, 60°S) as an example, even among the 448 CAR members selected here, those errors of the CAR ensemble means were only about-0.67% (-0.6 W m-2 ) and-0.82% (-2.0 W m-2 ) for SW and LW upward fluxes at the top of atmosphere, and 0.06% (0.1 W m-2 ) and -2.12% (-7.8 W m-2 ) for SW and LW downward fluxes at the surface, respectively. Furthermore, model SW frequency distributions in July 2004 covered the observational ranges entirely, with ensemble means located in the middle of the ranges. Moreover, it was found that the accuracy of radiative transfer calculations can be significantly enhanced by using certain combinations of cloud schemes for the cloud cover fraction, particle effective size, water path, and optical properties, along with better explicit treatments for unresolved cloud structures.     

TropFlux: air-sea fluxes for the global tropical oceans—description and evaluation

In this paper, we evaluate several timely, daily air-sea heat flux products (NCEP, NCEP2, ERA-Interim and OAFlux/ISCCP) against observations and present the newly developed TropFlux product. This new product uses bias-corrected ERA-interim and ISCCP data as input parameters to compute air-sea fluxes from the COARE v3.0 algorithm. Wind speed is corrected for mesoscale gustiness. Surface net shortwave radiation is based on corrected ISCCP data. We extend the shortwave radiation time series by using “near real-time” SWR estimated from outgoing longwave radiation. All products reproduce consistent intraseasonal surface net heat flux variations associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation in the Indian Ocean, but display more disparate interannual heat flux variations associated with El Ni?o in the eastern Pacific. They also exhibit marked differences in mean values and seasonal cycle. Comparison with global tropical moored buoy array data, I-COADS and fully independent mooring data sets shows that the two NCEP products display lowest correlation to mooring turbulent fluxes and significant biases. ERA-interim data captures well temporal variability, but with significant biases. OAFlux and TropFlux perform best. All products have issues in reproducing observed longwave radiation. Shortwave flux is much better captured by ISCCP data than by any of the re-analyses. Our “near real-time” shortwave radiation performs better than most re-analyses, but tends to underestimate variability over the cold tongues of the Atlantic and Pacific. Compared to independent mooring data, NCEP and NCEP2 net heat fluxes display ~0.78 correlation and >65?W?m^?2 rms-difference, ERA-I performs better (~0.86 correlation and ~48?W?m^?2) while OAFlux and TropFlux perform best (~0.9 correlation and ~43?W?m^?2). TropFlux hence provides a useful option for studying flux variability associated with ocean–atmosphere interactions, oceanic heat budgets and climate fluctuations in the tropics.     

Spatial variations of incoming longwave radiationin Göteborg, Sweden

Summary  A measurement programme was conducted in G?teborg Sweden, to examine the spatial variations of incoming longwave irradiance on calm, cloudless nights. Both regional and local spatial variations were examined. Incoming longwave irradiance data was obtained from mobile car transects, and at a fixed site on a building roof at the city centre. Ancillary data included sky view factor at various transect locations, and balloon soundings of air temperature and humidity on one night. Measurements revealed that on average, incoming longwave irradiance at the fixed urban site was 11 W m ⁻² higher than at the rural station, with varying differences for intervening sites. Bulk apparent sky emissivity was higher at the most rural station compared to the fixed urban site, by about 0.03 on average. Nighttime balloon measurements and a sensitivity analysis with a radiative transfer model argue that the bulk apparent sky emissivity differences stem mainly from the temperature structure of the lower boundary layer which changes markedly from rural to urban areas. A good relationship was found between sky view factor and incoming longwave irradiance for a range of urban and park locations. The relationship applies to both individual nights and average data. Using a simple obstruction model, canyon wall temperatures are derived, and the relationship between sky view factor and wall temperature is examined. Received December 23, 1999 Revised May 5, 2000