Actinic fluxes: The role of clouds in photodissociation

The role of clouds in photodissociation is examined by both modeling and observations. It is emphasized that the photodissociation rate is proportional to the actinic flux rather than to the irradiance. (The actinic flux concerns the energy that is incident on a molecule, irrespective of the direction of incidence. The irradiance concerns the energy that is incident on a plane.) A 3-layer model is used to calculate the actinic flux above and below a cloud, relative to the incident flux, in terms of cloud albedo, zenith angle and the albedo of the underlying and overlying atmosphere. Cloud albedo is mainly determined by cloud optical thickness. An expression for the in-cloud actinic flux is given as a function of in-cloud optical thickness. The 3-layer model seems to be an useful model for estimation of photodissociation rates in dispersion models. Further, a multi-layer delta-Eddington model is used to calculate irradiances, actinic fluxes and photodissociation rates of nitrogen dioxide J(NO₂) as a function of height in inhomogeneous atmospheres. For the considered wavelength interval [290–420 nm], Rayleigh scattering, ozone absorption and Mie scattering and absorption by cloud drops and aerosols should be taken into account. It is stressed that both models are one-dimensional and as such are unable to deal with partial cloudiness. It is shown that if no clouds are present, the actinic flux depends primarily on the solar zenith angle. The actinic flux usually increases with height. For cloudy atmospheres, another important parameter with respect to the actinic flux is added: cloud optical thickness, which determines cloud albedo. It can be shown that in-cloud characteristics and cloud height are less important in describing the effect of a cloud on the actinic flux (outside the cloud). The in-cloud values of the actinic flux can exceed the values outside the cloud. Finally, using the photostationary state relationship, good agreement is found between model results and aircraft measurements.     

Influence of Clouds on UV Irradiance at Ground Level and Backscattered Exittance

The influence of various cloud parameters and the interactions with the ground albedo and the solar zenith angle have been studied by means of model simulations. The radiative transfer model suitable for a cloudy atmosphere as well as for a clear atmosphere has been developed on the basis of the Discrete Ordinate Method. This study leads to a general understanding for cloudy atmospheres: in the presence of a uniform cloud, the cloud scattering is dominant to molecular and aerosol scattering, and it is also wavelength-independent; the ratio of transmitted irradiance in a cloudy atmosphere to that in the background clear atmosphere is independent of cloud height and solar zenith angle. That’s to say, the radiation downwelling out of a cloud is quite isotropic; it decreases approximately exponentially with the cloud optical depth at a rate related to the ground albedo; the reflected irradiance at the top of the atmosphere is dependent on cloud optical depth as well as on solar zenith angle, but not on ground albedo for clouds of not very thin optical depth.     

Radiation Exchange Between Stratus Clouds and Polar Marine Surfaces

The radiative energy exchange between arctic sea-ice and stratiform clouds is studied by means of aircraft measurements and a two-stream radiation transfer model. The data have been obtained by flights of two identically instrumented aircraft during the Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiments REFLEX I in autumn 1991 and REFLEX II in winter 1993 over the arctic marginal ice zone of Fram Strait. The instrumental equipment comprised Eppley pyranometers and pyrgeometers, which measure the solar and terrestrial upwelling and downwelling hemispheric radiation flux densities, and a line-scan-camera on one aircraft to monitor the surface structure of the sea-ice. An empirical parametrization of the albedo of partly ice-covered ocean surfaces is obtained from the data, which describes the albedo increasing linearly with the concentration of the snow-covered sea-ice and with the cosine of the sun zenith angle at sun elevations below 10°. Cloud optical parameters, such as single scattering albedo, asymmetry factor and shortwave and longwave height-dependent extinction coefficient are determined by adjusting modeled radiation flux densities to observations. We found significant influence of the multiple reflection of shortwave radiation between the ice surface and the cloud base on the radiation regime. Consistent with the data, a radiation transfer model shows that stratus clouds of 400 m thickness with common cloud parameters may double the global radiation at the surface of sea-ice compared to open water values. The total cloud-surface-albedo under these circumstances is 30% larger over sea-ice than over water. Parametrizations of the global and reflected radiation above and below stratus clouds are proposed on the basis of the measurements and modeling. The upwelling and downwelling longwave emission of stratus clouds with thicknesses of more than 500 m can be satisfactorily estimated by Stefan's law with an emissivity of nearly 1 and when the maximum air temperature within the cloud is used.     

The albedo of snow for partially cloudy skies

The albedo of snow for different cloudiness conditions is an important parameter in the Earth's radiation budget analysis and in the study of snowpack's thermal conditions. In this study an efficient approximate method is derived to calculate the incident spectral solar flux and snow-cover albedo in terms of different atmospheric, cloud, and snow parameters. The global flux under partially cloudy skies is expressed in terms of the clear sky flux and a coefficient which models the effect of scattering and absorption by cloud patches and multiple reflections between the cloud base and snowcover. The direct and the diffuse components of the clear sky flux are obtained using the spectral flux outside the atmosphere and the spectral transmission coefficients for absorption and scattering by molecules and aerosols.The spectral snow reflectance model considers both specular surface reflection and volumetric multiple scattering. The surface reflection is calculated by using a crystal-shape-dependent bidirectional reflectance distribution function; the volumetric multiple scattering is calculated by using a crystal-size-dependent approximate solution in the radiative transfer equation. The input parameters to the model are atmospheric precipitable water, ozone content, turbidity, cloud optical thickness, the size and shape of ice crystals of snow and surface pressure. The model yields spectral and integrated solar flux and snow reflectance as a function of solar elevation and fractional cloudcover.The model is illustrated using representative parameters for the Antarctic coastal regions. The albedo for a clear sky depends inversely on the solar elevation. At high elevations the albedo depends primarily upon the grain size; at low elevation the albedo depends on grain size and shape. The gradient of the albedo-elevation curve increases as the grains become larger and faceted. The albedo for a densely overcast sky is a few percent higher than the clear-sky albedo at high elevations. A simple relationship between grain size and the overcast albedo is obtained. For a set of grain size and shape, the albedo as a function of solar elevation and fractional cloud cover is tabulated.     

基于TUV模式的银川光化辐射通量特征及其影响因子

利用TUV模式计算分析了银川光化辐射通量变化特征,探讨了云、气溶胶、臭氧柱浓度、NO₂柱浓度等因子对银川光化辐射通量的影响。结果表明：2019年7—9月银川月平均光化辐射通量分别为6.5E+16光子数·cm^-2·s^-1、5.6E+16光子数·cm^-2·s^-1和4.7E+16光子数·cm^-2·s^-1,日最大值出现在13:00;波长小于325 nm时,光化辐射通量随波长增加缓慢上升,波长在325—480 nm之间时,光化辐射通量迅速升高,波长大于480 nm时,光化辐射通量随波长增加变化较小,此特征在中午前后较早晚表现更明显;云光学厚度和气溶胶光学厚度对光化辐射通量的衰减作用具有明显的“U”型日变化特征,比较而言,气溶胶光学厚度对光化辐射通量衰减作用的“U”型波形更为宽广;光化辐射通量衰减率对较低的云光学厚度的变化更敏感;光化辐射通量随气溶胶光学厚度增加而减小的变率要比随云光学厚度增加而减小的变率小;光化辐射通量对单次散射反照比大于0.6...     

Spectral dependence on the correction factor of erythemal UV for cloud,aerosol, total ozone,and surface properties: A modeling study

Radiative transfer model simulations were used to investigate the erythemal ultraviolet(EUV) correction factors by separating the UV-A and UV-B spectral ranges. The correction factor was defined as the ratio of EUV caused by changing the amounts and characteristics of the extinction and scattering materials. The EUV correction factors(CFEUV) for UV-A[CFEUV(A)] and UV-B [CFEUV(B)] were affected by changes in the total ozone, optical depths of aerosol and cloud, and the solar zenith angle. The differences between CFEUV(A) and CFEUV(B) were also estimated as a function of solar zenith angle, the optical depths of aerosol and cloud, and total ozone. The differences between CFEUV(A) and CFEUV(B) ranged from-5.0% to 25.0% for aerosols, and from-9.5% to 2.0% for clouds in all simulations for different solar zenith angles and optical depths of aerosol and cloud. The rate of decline of CFEUV per unit optical depth between UV-A and UV-B differed by up to 20% for the same aerosol and cloud conditions. For total ozone, the variation in CFEUV(A) was negligible compared with that in CFEUV(B) because of the effective spectral range of the ozone absorption band. In addition, the sensitivity of the CFEUVs due to changes in surface conditions(i.e., surface albedo and surface altitude) was also estimated by using the model in this study. For changes in surface albedo, the sensitivity of the CFEUVs was 2.9%–4.1% per 0.1 albedo change,depending on the amount of aerosols or clouds. For changes in surface altitude, the sensitivity of CFEUV(B) was twice that of CFEUV(A), because the Rayleigh optical depth increased significantly at shorter wavelengths.     

一维辐射-对流模式对云辐射强迫的数值模拟研究

利用一维辐射－对流气候模式, 详细研究了云量、云光学厚度以及云高等要素的变化对大气顶和地面太阳短波辐射和红外长波辐射通量以及云的辐射强迫的影响, 给出了计算这些物理量的经验拟合公式。结果表明, 云具有极为重要的辐射－气候效应。云量、云光学厚度以及云高即使只有百分之几的变化, 所带来的辐射强迫也可以与大气二氧化碳浓度加倍所产生的辐射强迫（3.75 W/m2）相比拟。例如, 当分别给它们+3%的扰动时, 即取云量变化0.015, 云光学厚度变化0.27, 以及云高变化0.15 km时（在实际的地球大气中, 这种尺度的变化是完全可能发生的）, 那么,可以得到地气系统的太阳短波辐射强迫-3.10 W/m2以及红外长波辐射强迫-1.77 W/m2, 二者之和为-4.78 W/m2, 已经完全可以抵消大气二氧化碳浓度加倍所产生的辐射强迫。但是, 当云量、云光学厚度以及云高向相反方向产生类似扰动时, 所产生的辐射强迫可能极大地放大二氧化碳浓度增加所产生的增强温室效应。因此, 研究结果揭示出, 不管是为了解释过去的气候变化, 还是预测未来的气候变化, 亟待加强在一个变化了的气候环境（例如地面温度升高）下, 云将发生何种变化的研究。     

Cloud Transmission Estimates of UV-B Erythemal Irradiance

Summary Two UV-Biometer 501A instruments were used to estimate global erythemal irradiance at two locations in southwest Sweden; the Earth Sciences Centre, University of G?teborg (57.69° N; 11.92° E) and the island of Nordkoster, 200 km to the north (58.83° N; 10.72° E). A semi-empirical radiative transfer model was used to calculate the global erythemally effective irradiance under clear skies. A ratio of the hourly measured to clear-sky modelled irradiance was then derived for zenith angles 35–70°. Subsequent comparisons were then made with routine measurements of sunshine duration at G?teborg and sunshine duration, cloud cover, type and height at Nordkoster. Cloud transmission of UV-B irradiance decreases with increasing solar zenith angle, with cloud attenuation being 8% stronger at Nordkoster Island for zenith angles >>;60°. Transmission also decreases with increasing cloud cover such that overcast cloud conditions reduce transmissions by an average of 75%. In addition, cloud type affects the amount of ground incident irradiant flux. Fractus cloud afforded the least UV-B transmission (0.16), while cirrus filaments afforded the most (0.95). The spatial and temporal distribution of clouds appears tobe non-random. Under conditions of 1 to 3 octas, sky cover, clouds appear to be concentrated in line with the sensor and Sun on more occasions than that expected given a random cloud distribution. The same cloud cover condition also resulted in many instances of ground incident irradiance above clear-sky values. The presence of cumuliform clouds appears to increase the likelihood of the latter phenomena. Received January 4, 1998     

Radiation transfer in finite cylindrical clouds

Summary An analytical method is developed for determining radiation transport in finite cylindrical clouds. The cylindrical form is taken as the idealized shape of cumulus clouds. In the shortwave part of the spectrum illumination by the direct solar beam is considered. In the infrared the cloud's emission as well as the radiation emitted by an underlying ground is taken into account. Numerical computations are carried out to illustrate the applicability of the technique developed in the present study. For a cloud in an absorbing midlatitude summer atmosphere results are shown for the shortwave region including spectral integration. Cloud transmission and albedo are presented as a function of solar zenith angle and as a function of the cloud's dimensions. The results are in agreement with published results from Monte Carlo calculations as far as a comparison is possible. Vertical profiles of the solar heating rate in the cylindrical cloud indicate the effect of the cloud's finite dimensions. Similarity as well as differences are found from comparison with results obtained for a cuboidal cloud from a finite analytical model that was tested successfully against Monte Carlo calculations.With 5 Figures     

Three-Dimensional Calculation of Photolysis Frequencies in the Presence of Clouds and Impact on Photochemistry

For atmospheric photochemistry, clouds can significantly affect actinic flux distributions. In this paper, we examine the effects of convective clouds on the three-dimensional distribution of the spectral actinic flux and on photolysis frequencies for various chemical species. Three-dimensional solutions of the UV-VIS radiative transfer equation are produced using the Spherical Harmonic Discrete Ordinary Method solution technique. This solver uses as input the 3-D cloud characteristics simulated by a dynamical cloud model. The ultraviolet and visible spectra are divided into 5 intervals in order to explore the wavelength dependency of the cloud effect on the actinic flux. Results show that the distribution of the actinic flux over the cloud domain is far from homogeneous and depends primarily on the cloud extinction associated with the hydrometeors. Maximum actinic flux is found at the top edge of the cloud and is related to scattering by ice crystals. The actinic flux is enhanced by a factor of 2 to 5, compared to clear air values, above, at the top edge, and around the cloud. The 3-D actinic flux is used to calculate the photolysis rates for some chemical species (e.g. NO₂, O₃, and HCHO). Forcomputing photolysis rates, a discretized spectral representation of the absorption wavelengths is used in the model. The calculated photolysis rates are distributed inhomogeneously throughout the cloud, and maxima are found in regions where the actinic flux is enhancement is large. Temperature effects on absorption are found in the photolysis frequencies of some species. Finally, the potential importance of this photolysis enhancement on photochemistry is studied using box model simulations. Results show that enhanced OH concentrations are found in the upper troposphere (120–200%) overthe clouds and changes in ozone production rates (+15%) are obtained in quasi-steady state conditions.     

The Impact of Non-Lambertian Wavelength-Dependent Reflecting Surfaces on Stratospheric Radiation and Photochemistry

We have developed models of physically-based cloud and ocean surfacesfor use in photochemical models. These surface models are described in termsof a flux albedo and a normalized reflection function.Through these, the dependence of albedo on wavelength, solar zenithangle, cloud optical depth (cloud surfaces) and surface windspeed (ocean surfaces) are allowed for. In addition, the non-Lambertian nature of these surfaces is accounted for.We have integrated these surfacemodels into a multiple scattering radiative transfer model to assess their effects on the stratospheric radiation field and J-values. This was accomplished by comparison with results obtainedusing Lambertian, constant albedo surfaces. Comparisons of stratospheric radiation fields revealed that boththe wavelength and directional dependences of the cloud and oceansurfaces could be large effects.Differences between calculated J-values varied from 0 to 12% depending upon species, solar zenith angle, andheight.The J-values were then used as input for a chemical box model to examine the effects these surfaces had on stratospheric chemistry. Comparisons were made against box model runs using J-values fromconstant surfaces. Overall, the effect was on the order of 10%.Differences in number densities using these different surfacesvaried with latitude, height and species.Runs were made with and without heterogeneous chemistry.     

A comparison of photolysis rate parameters estimated from measured and simulated actinic flux for wintertime conditions at Storm Peak Laboratory,Colorado

Photolysis rate parameters depend upon solar actinic flux and chemical species dependent quantum yields and cross sections. Spectrally resolved measurements of actinic flux should be preferred over flux derived from models for the analysis of field observations. Actinic flux can be difficult to derive from the irradiance measurements of flat-plate radiometers. It is also difficult to estimate from models due to uncertainties in the ozone column, aerosol concentrations and distributions, cloud cover, optical depth and surface albedo. A series of actinic flux measurements were performed at Storm Peak Laboratory (3,210 m above sea level), Colorado, United States with spectroradiometers during the wintertime (January 07–10, 2004). The site is relatively remote with a clean atmosphere and during the wintertime the ground is generally covered by fresh snow with a high albedo. The actinic flux measurements were used to estimate the photolysis rate parameters of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde. The measured actinic flux and the photolysis rate parameters derived from the flux were compared to calculations using the Tropospheric Ultraviolet-Visible Model (TUV), version 4.2 (Madronich and Flocke, 1998). The TUV modeled actinic flux, the measured flux and the photolysis rate parameters derived from them had similar temporal patterns. However there were significant differences in their magnitude due to uncertainties in the data available to initialize the TUV model and the calibration of the spectroradiometer.     

Ultraviolet sky radiance distributions of translucent overcast skies

Summary The diffuse sky radiation component in the ultraviolet wavelengths is often at least 50% of the global irradiance under clear skies, and is the dominant component of ultraviolet global radiation under translucent overcast skies. The distribution of sky radiance was measured in a rural area and modeled for wavelength bands of ultraviolet-B (UVB, 280–320 nm) and ultraviolet-A (UVA, 320–400 nm). Sky radiance measurements were made during the summer of 1993 over a wide range of solar zenith angles using radiance sensors mounted on a hand-operated hemispherical rotation mount. UVB irradiance measurements were also made during each scan. Since the ratio of measured irradiance under overcast skies and that predicted for clear skies was not correlated with cloud base height, opaque cloud fraction, or solar zenith angle, it was concluded that the scattering from the clouds dominated the global irradiance, and this scattering was relatively unaffected by the scattering off opaque clouds in the translucent atmosphere.Analysis of the translucent overcast sky UVA and UVB radiance measurements using a semi-empirical distribution model showed that the spectral influences on multiple scattering, single scattering, and horizon brightening components of the distributions agreed with basic atmospheric radiation theory. The best model used solar zenith, the sky zenith, and the scattering angle with resultant coefficient of determination values of 0.62 and 0.25 for the UVA and UVB respectively. The developed equations can be applied directly to the diffuse sky irradiance on the horizontal to provide radiance distributions for the sky.With 6 Figures     

Sensitivity of the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG （GAMILI.I.0） Climate Simulations to Cloud Droplet Effective Radius and Liquid Water Path

This paper documents a study to examine the sensitivity to cloud droplet effective radius and liquid water path and the alleviation the energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface in the latest version of the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics （LASG）, Institute of Atmospheric Physics （IAP） （GAMIL1.1.0）. Considerable negative biases in all flux components, and thus an energy imbalance, are found in GAMIL1.1.0. In order to alleviate the energy imbalance, two modifications, namely an increase in cloud droplet effective radius and a decrease in cloud liquid water path, have been made to the cloud properties used in GAMIL. With the increased cloud droplet effective radius, the single scattering albedo of clouds is reduced, and thus the reflection of solar radiation into space by clouds is reduced and the net solar radiation flux at the top of the atmosphere is increased. With the reduced cloud optical depth, the net surface shortwave radiation flux is increased, causing a net warming over the land surface. This results in an increase in both sensible and latent heat fluxes over the land regions, which is largely balanced by the increased terrestrial radiation fluxes. Consequently, the energy balance at the top of atmosphere and at the surface is achieved with energy flux components consistent with available satellite observations.     

Climate feedbacks in a general circulation model incorporating prognostic clouds

 This study performs a comprehensive feedback analysis on the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre General Circulation Model, quantifying all important feedbacks operating under an increase in atmospheric CO₂. The individual feedbacks are analysed in detail, using an offline radiation perturbation method, looking at long- and shortwave components, latitudinal distributions, cloud impacts, non-linearities under 2xCO₂ and 4xCO₂ warmings and at interannual variability. The water vapour feedback is divided into terms due to moisture height and amount changes. The net cloud feedback is separated into terms due to cloud amount, height, water content, water phase, physical thickness and convective cloud fraction. Globally the most important feedbacks were found to be (from strongest positive to strongest negative) those due to water vapour, clouds, surface albedo, lapse rate and surface temperature. For the longwave (LW) response the most important term of the cloud ‘optical property’ feedbacks is due to the water content. In the shortwave (SW), both water content and water phase changes are important. Cloud amount and height terms are also important for both LW and SW. Feedbacks due to physical cloud thickness and convective cloud fraction are found to be relatively small. All cloud component feedbacks (other than height) produce conflicting LW/SW feedbacks in the model. Furthermore, the optical property and cloud fraction feedbacks are also of opposite sign. The result is that the net cloud feedback is the (relatively small) product of conflicting physical processes. Non-linearities in the feedbacks are found to be relatively small for all but the surface albedo response and some cloud component contributions. The cloud impact on non-cloud feedbacks is also discussed: greatest impact is on the surface albedo, but impact on water vapour feedback is also significant. The analysis method here proves to be a␣powerful tool for detailing the contributions from different model processes (and particularly those of the clouds) to the final climate model sensitivity. Received: 15 June 2000 / Accepted: 10 January 2001     

中国沙漠沙尘气溶胶对沙漠源区及北太平洋地区大气辐射加热的影响

针对2001年春季中国沙漠和北太平洋上空沙尘气溶胶的空间分布情况,利用辐射传输模式,分别计算了沙尘气溶胶对沙漠和海洋大气的辐射加热（冷却）率,并讨论了低云、中云、高云对辐射加热率的影响。结果表明:春季,位于中国沙漠和太平洋上空的沙尘层对大气具有明显的加热作用。当沙漠上空光学厚度为1.0,海洋上空光学厚度为0.3时,取春季平均太阳高度角,沙尘层对应的净辐射加热率分别为2.8 K/d和0.4 K/d。由于WMO推荐的沙尘模型比东亚沙尘模型对太阳辐射吸收强,采用该模型计算得到的中国沙漠和海洋上空的加热率比采用东亚沙尘模型分别高1.5 K/d和0.2 K/d。沙尘对大气的加热率很大程度上依赖于沙尘的大气载荷。这种依赖性首先受太阳高度角的影响, 其次也受地表反照率的影响。云对沙尘层辐射加热（冷却）率的影响与云的高度和厚度有关。低云能够加热沙漠和海洋上空的沙尘大气,冷却地面和洋面。中、高云冷却沙漠上空的沙尘层。在海洋上空,中云对云层以上的沙尘层有加热作用,对云层以下的沙尘层有冷却作用。高云对海洋上空沙尘层的辐射加热（冷却）率的影响比较小,加热还是冷却,取决于云的厚度,当云层较薄时,加热沙尘层,而当云层较厚的时候,有可能冷却沙尘层。     

A transitioning Arctic surface energy budget: the impacts of solar zenith angle, surface albedo and cloud radiative forcing

Snow surface and sea-ice energy budgets were measured near 87.5°N during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), from August to early September 2008. Surface temperature indicated four distinct temperature regimes, characterized by varying cloud, thermodynamic and solar properties. An initial warm, melt-season regime was interrupted by a 3-day cold regime where temperatures dropped from near zero to ?7°C. Subsequently mean energy budget residuals remained small and near zero for 1 week until once again temperatures dropped rapidly and the energy budget residuals became negative. Energy budget transitions were dominated by the net radiative fluxes, largely controlled by the cloudiness. Variable heat, moisture and cloud distributions were associated with changing air-masses. Surface cloud radiative forcing, the net radiative effect of clouds on the surface relative to clear skies, is estimated. Shortwave cloud forcing ranged between ?50 W m^?2 and zero and varied significantly with surface albedo, solar zenith angle and cloud liquid water. Longwave cloud forcing was larger and generally ranged between 65 and 85 W m^?2, except when the cloud fraction was tenuous or contained little liquid water; thus the net effect of the clouds was to warm the surface. Both cold periods occurred under tenuous, or altogether absent, low-level clouds containing little liquid water, effectively reducing the cloud greenhouse effect. Freeze-up progression was enhanced by a combination of increasing solar zenith angles and surface albedo, while inhibited by a large, positive surface cloud forcing until a new air-mass with considerably less cloudiness advected over the experiment area.     

地基双波段测云系统及其对比试验

针对地基测云系统中云在可见光波段与红外波段中表现出的不同特性,用双站数字式云高仪所测云高进行标校,结合地面实时观测天顶红外辐射亮温及地面环境参数,分析地面到云层底大气对红外辐射亮温的影响,从中发现利用天空红外辐射亮温来遥感云底高度的可行性,研发地基双波段测云系统。该系统以对流层大气的垂直温度递减率为理论基础,建立云层底到地面的温度递减梯度参数K,根据递减梯度参数反演天顶方向的云高。该算法不依赖于探空数据,通过实时定标形式得出符合仪器所在地的云底高反演公式。通过与维萨拉激光云高仪CL31进行数据对比分析得出,地基双波段测云系统反演结果具有较高的准确性。     

Evaluation of cloud properties in the NOAA/NCEP global forecast system using multiple satellite products

Knowledge of cloud properties and their vertical structure is important for meteorological studies due to their impact on both the Earth’s radiation budget and adiabatic heating within the atmosphere. The objective of this study is to evaluate bulk cloud properties and vertical distribution simulated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System (GFS) using three global satellite products. Cloud variables evaluated include the occurrence and fraction of clouds in up to three layers, cloud optical depth, liquid water path, and ice water path. Cloud vertical structure data are retrieved from both active (CloudSat/CALIPSO) and passive sensors and are subsequently compared with GFS model results. In general, the GFS model captures the spatial patterns of hydrometeors reasonably well and follows the general features seen in satellite measurements, but large discrepancies exist in low-level cloud properties. More boundary layer clouds over the interior continents were generated by the GFS model whereas satellite retrievals showed more low-level clouds over oceans. Although the frequencies of global multi-layer clouds from observations are similar to those from the model, latitudinal variations show discrepancies in terms of structure and pattern. The modeled cloud optical depth over storm track region and subtropical region is less than that from the passive sensor and is overestimated for deep convective clouds. The distributions of ice water path (IWP) agree better with satellite observations than do liquid water path (LWP) distributions. Discrepancies in LWP/IWP distributions between observations and the model are attributed to differences in cloud water mixing ratio and mean relative humidity fields, which are major control variables determining the formation of clouds.     

基于模糊纹理光谱的全天空红外图像云分类

为了对全天空红外测云系统获得的红外图像进行云类自动识别, 提出了基于模糊纹理光谱结合云物理属性的全天空云类识别方法。首先根据不同滤波窗口的模糊纹理光谱图像特征, 确定了滤波窗口大小, 然后通过分析不同天空类型下的FUTS谱 (fuzzy uncertainty texture spectrum) 以及同一种天空类型下的FUTS谱, 考察了FUTS进行云类识别的适用性, 最后利用最小距离分类法和云基本物理属性对全天空红外图像进行了分类测试。在200个测试样本中, 层状云、积云、高积云、卷云和晴空的识别率分别为100%, 100%, 90%, 100%, 100%, 平均识别率达到98%。基于模糊纹理光谱的云分类算法对单一云空具有很好的分类效果, 可进一步应用于全天空红外图像的云分类识别。