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.     

The influence of clouds on surface UV erythemal irradiance

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of clouds on the ultraviolet erythemal irradiance. The study was developed at three stations in the Iberian Peninsula: Madrid and Murcia, using data recorded in the period 2000–2001, and Zaragoza, using data recorded in 2001. In order to determine the cloud effect on ultraviolet erythemal irradiance, we considered a cloud modification factor defined as the ratio between the measured values of ultraviolet erythemal irradiance and the corresponding clear-sky ultraviolet erythemal irradiance, which would be expected for the same time period and atmospheric conditions. The dependence of this cloud modification factor on total cloud amount, cloud type and solar elevation angle was investigated. The results suggest that the effect of cloud on ultraviolet erythemal irradiance can be parameterized in a simple way in terms of the cloud amount. Our results suggest that the same cloud modification factor model can be used at the three analysed locations estimating the ultraviolet erythemal irradiance with mean bias deviation (MBD) in the range of the expected experimental errors. This cloud modification factor is lower than that associated to the whole solar spectral range, indicating that the attenuation for the ultraviolet erythemal irradiance is lower than that associated to other solar spectral ranges. The cloud modification factor for ultraviolet erythemal irradiance presents dependence with solar elevation, with opposite dependencies with solar elevation for overcast and partial cloud cover conditions, a fact that can be explained in terms of the influence of reflection-enhancement of the ultraviolet irradiance in the last case. Concerning the influence of cloud type, a limited study of two cloud categories, low and medium level and high level, indicated that for overcast conditions, lower clouds presents an attenuation of ultraviolet erythemal irradiance 20% greater than that associated to high level clouds.     

Determination of radiation amplification factor of atmospheric aerosol from the surface UV irradiance measurement at Gwangju, Korea

Summary This study investigated the impact of atmospheric aerosols on surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance at Gwangju, Korea (35°13′N, 126°50′E). Data analyzed included surface UV irradiance measured by UV radiometers from June 1998 to April 2001 and the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the visible range determined from a rotating shadow-band radiometer (RSR). The radiation amplification factor (RAF) of ozone for UV-B (280–315 nm) at Gwangju was 1.32–1.62. Values of the RAF of aerosols (RAF_AOD) for UV-A and UV-B were 0.18–0.20 and 0.22–0.26, respectively. Authors’ addresses: Jeong Eun Kim, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA); Seong Yoon Ryu, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Division of Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS); Young Joon Kim, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC) Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.     

Effects of cloudiness on global and diffuse UV irradiance in a high-mountain area

Summary At the high-mountain station Jungfraujoch (3576 m a.s.l., Switzerland), measurements of the radiation fluxes were made during 16 periods of six to eight weeks by means of a Robertson—Berger sunburn meter (UVB data), an Eppley UVA radiometer and an Eppley pyranometer. Cloudiness, opacity and altitude of clouds were recorded at 30-minute intervals. A second set of instruments was employed for separate measurement of the diffuse radiation fluxes using shadow bands. The global and diffuse UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes change less with cloudiness than the corresponding total radiation fluxes. When the sun is covered by clouds, the global UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes are also affected less than the global total radiation flux. The roughly equal influence of cloudiness on the UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes suggests that the reduction is influenced more by scattering than by ozone. Also, the share of diffuse irradiance in global irradiance is considerably higher for UVA- and UVB irradiance than for total irradiance. At 50° solar elevation and 0/10 cloudiness, the share is 39% for UVB irradiance, 34% for UVA irradiance and 11% for total irradiance. The increased aerosol turbidity after the eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo has caused a significant increase in diffuse total irradiance but has not produced any significant changes in diffuse UVA- and UVB irradiances.With 7 Figures     

Recent Near-surface Temperature Trends in the Antarctic Peninsula from Observed,Reanalysis and Regional Climate Model Data

This study investigates the recent near-surface temperature trends over the Antarctic Peninsula.We make use of available surface observations,ECMWF’s ERA5 and its predecessor ERA-Interim,as well as numerical simulations,allowing us to contrast different data sources.We use hindcast simulations performed with Polar-WRF over the Antarctic Peninsula on a nested domain configuration at 45 km(PWRF-45)and 15 km(PWRF-15)spatial resolutions for the period 1991?2015.In addition,we include hindcast simulations of KNMI-RACMO21P obtained from the CORDEX-Antarctica domain(~50 km)for further comparisons.Results show that there is a marked windward warming trend except during summer.This windward warming trend is particularly notable in the autumn season and likely to be associated with the recent deepening of the Amundsen/Bellingshausen Sea low and warm advection towards the Antarctic Peninsula.On the other hand,an overall summer cooling is characterized by the strengthening of the Weddell Sea low as well as an anticyclonic trend over the Amundsen Sea accompanied by northward winds.The persistent cooling trend observed at the Larsen Ice Shelf station is not captured by ERA-Interim,whereas hindcast simulations indicate that there is a clear pattern of windward warming and leeward cooling.Furthermore,larger temporal correlations and lower differences exhibited by PWRF-15 illustrate the existence of the added value in the higher spatial resolution simulation.     

莱州湾西北与山东半岛北部强海效应降雪个例分析

利用常规资料、NCEP再分析资料和加密自动站资料对2011年12月8日莱州湾西岸一次强海效应降雪过程进行了诊断分析。结果表明:此地的海效应降雪与山东半岛北部的海效应降雪都是在适宜的背景场、有利的海气温差及较强的低空冷平流等基本条件下发生的。但是具体到风场配置、海气温差强度、水汽分布及动力、热力条件等方面存在着差异。在这次过程中,900 hPa以上为西北风,以下维持持续的东北风,是造成此次强海效应降雪的主要原因。这种风场结构与半岛北部的高、低空均要求西北风不同。结合物理量场的诊断分析认为,莱州湾西岸的海效应降雪与山东半岛北部的同属于浅对流降雪。本次过程中900 hPa以下存在上升运动、水汽辐合中心、不稳定层结和大的海气温差,近地层的切变线触发了不稳定能量的释放。强降雪区出现在1000 hPa相当位温暖舌的区域,暖舌的位置与山东半岛北部发生强海效应降雪时的不同,前者在莱州湾,后者在半岛北部沿海。从云图上看,冷流低云在海面上表现为一条条顺气流方向的云线,云的个体呈细胞状,接近陆地时,由于海陆下垫面的差异使得云层加厚,云的走向发生偏转,降雪加大。     

Validation of a method to estimate direct normal irradiance of UVA and PAR bands from global horizontal measurements for cloudless sky conditions in Valencia, Spain, by a measurement campaign

A method is proposed to provide measurement of direct normal solar irradiance of bands with wavelength ranges (315?C400?nm, 400?C700?nm) from measurements of global horizontal band irradiance for cloudless sky conditions in Valencia. Global and normal direct irradiance data for every air mass were obtained by applying the SMART2 model to the atmosphere of Valencia. The direct normal to global irradiance ratio was parameterized versus the relative optical air mass. A measurement campaign of global horizontal and diffuse irradiance of UVA and PAR bands was carried out in Valencia, after which, the inferred direct normal irradiance was compared with those provided by the method. The result of the comparison shows that the method is acceptably accurate. The proposed model tends to underestimate the direct normal irradiance of the UVA band by 6%, although for values below 25?W/m² the model overestimates the direct irradiance by 6%, while for values above 25?W/m² the model underestimates it by 10%. The other two error estimators used ranging from 11% to 15% are similar in the defined interval measurements in relation to the whole UVA band. Regarding the PAR band, the model overestimates the direct normal irradiance of the PAR band by only 2.2%. With this, the results of the PAR band are more conclusive, as it has been found that for direct normal irradiance values higher than 280?W/m² the MBE error is almost zero and the other two estimator errors are small, about 5%.     

Impact of climate variability on summer fires in a Mediterranean environment (northeastern Iberian Peninsula)

We analyse the impact of climate interannual variability on summer forest fires in Catalonia (northeastern Iberian Peninsula). The study period covers 25 years, from 1983 to 2007. During this period more than 16000 fire events were recorded and the total burned area was more than 240 kha, i.e. around 7.5% of whole Catalonia. We show that the interannual variability of summer fires is significantly correlated with summer precipitation and summer maximum temperature. In addition, fires are significantly related to antecedent climate conditions, showing positive correlation with lagged precipitation and negative correlation with lagged temperatures, both with a time lag of two years, and negative correlation with the minimum temperature in the spring of the same year. The interaction between antecedent climate conditions and fire variability highlights the importance of climate not only in regulating fuel flammability, but also fuel structure. On the basis of these results, we discuss a simple regression model that explains up to 76% of the variance of the Burned Area and up to 91% of the variance of the number of fires. This simple regression model produces reliable out-of-sample predictions of the impact of climate variability on summer forest fires and it could be used to estimate fire response to different climate change scenarios, assuming that climate-vegetation-humans-fire interactions will not change significantly.     

Emission and flux of DMS from the Australian Antarctic and Subantarctic Oceans during the 1988/89 summer

DMS emissions and fluxes from the Australasian sector of the Antarctic and Subantarctic Oceans, bound by 46–68° S and 65.5–142.6° E, were determined from a limited number of samples (n=32) collected during three summer resupply voyages to Australian Antarctic continental research bases between November 1988 and January 1989 (a 92 day period). The maximum DMS emission from this sector of the Antarctic Ocean was in an area near the Antarctic Divergence (60–63° S) and the minimum DMS emission was from the Antarctic coastal and offshelf waters. The greatest emission of DMS from this sector of the Southern Ocean was from the Subantarctic waters. DMS flux from the Australasian Antarctic Ocean was 64.3×10⁶ (±115) mol d^–1 or 5.9 (±10.6)×10⁹ mol based on an emission of 10.9 (±19.5) µmol m^–2 d^–1 (n=26). The flux of DMS from the Australasian sector of the Subantarctic Ocean was probably twice the flux of DMS from the adjacent Antarctic Ocean.     

Influence of the total atmospheric optical depth and cloud cover on solar irradiance components

Broadband solar irradiance data obtained in the spectral range 400–940 nm at Kwangju, South Korea from 1999–2000 have been analyzed to investigate the effects of cloud cover and atmospheric optical depth on solar radiation components. Results from measurements indicate that the percentage of direct and diffuse horizontal components of solar irradiance depend largely on total optical depth (TOD) and cloud cover. During summer and spring, the percentages of diffuse solar irradiance relative to the global irradiance were 5.0% and 4.9% as compared to 2.2% and 3.0% during winter and autumn. The diffuse solar irradiance is higher than the direct in spring and summer by 24.2%, and 40.6%, respectively, which may largely be attributed to the attenuation (scattering) of radiation by heavy dust pollution and large cloud amount. In cloud-free conditions with cloud cover ≤2/10, the fraction of the direct and diffuse components were 66.0% and 34.0%, respectively, with a mean daily global irradiance value of 7.92±2.91 MJ m⁻² day⁻¹. However, under cloudy conditions (with cloud cover ≥8/10), the diffuse and direct fractions were 97.9% and 2.2% of the global component, respectively. The annual mean TOD under cloudless conditions (cloud cover≤2/10) yields 0.74±0.33 and increased to as much as 3.15±0.67 under cloudy conditions with cloud amount ≥8/10. An empirical formula is derived for estimating the diffuse and direct components of horizontal solar irradiance by considering the total atmospheric optical depth (TOD). Results from statistical models are shown for the estimation of solar irradiance components as a function of TOD with sufficient accuracy as indicated by low standard error for each solar zenith angle (SZA).     

Ice-Core Study of the Link between Sea-Salt Aerosol,Sea-Ice Cover and Climate in the Antarctic Peninsula Area

Three ice cores and a set of snow pit samples collected on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, in 1979, 1981 and 1991 have been analyzed for water stable isotope content D or ¹⁸O (isotopic temperature) and major chemical species. A reliable and detailed chronological scale has been established first for the upper 24.5 m of water equivalent (1990–1943) where various data sets can be compared, then extended down to 59.5 m of water equivalent (1847) with the aid of seasonal variations and the sulphate peak reflecting the 1883 Krakatoa volcanic eruption. At James Ross Island, sea-salt aerosol is generally produced by ice-free marine surfaces during the summer months, although some winter sea-salt events have been observed. For the upper part of the core (1990–1943), correlations (positive or negative) were calculated between isotopic temperature, chloride content (a sea-salt indicator), sea-ice extent, regional atmospheric temperature changes and atmospheric circulation. The D and chloride content correlation was then extended back to 1847, making it possible to estimate decadal sea-ice cover fluctuations over the study period. Our findings suggest that ice-core records from James Ross Island reflect the recent warming and sea-ice decrease trends observed in the Antarctic Peninsula area from the mid-1940s.     

亚音速飞机排放物对地面紫外辐射的影响

根据世界民航组织和世界气象组织有关专家对当前亚音速飞机排放量的估计和将来20年内增长的预测,用辐射传输模式估算了飞机排放物对地面紫外辐射水平的影响。计算使用DISORT程序,这是一个经过检验可以较好地包括多次散射作用的离散坐标法程序。分别检验了飞机排放煤烟、硫酸盐粒子和卷云的多次散射及引起的臭氧增加对地面280～400 nm紫外辐射的影响。结果表明：根据目前的估计和预测,飞机排放的煤烟和硫酸盐粒子对地面紫外辐射没有影响;引起的臭氧变化也不至于引起地面紫外辐射的变化。但如果天空存在一层卷云（光学厚度0.042）,就足以使得地面直射紫外辐射减少5%,总紫外辐射增加1%～2%。有资料表明,飞机排放的水汽可能使得某些地区卷云量增加了10%。因此,可能会对地面紫外辐射产生影响。     

Towards More Snow Days in Summer since 2001 at the Great Wall Station,Antarctic Peninsula:The Role of the Amundsen Sea Low

The variation in the precipitation phase in polar regions represents an important indicator of climate change and variability. We studied the precipitation phase at the Great Wall Station and Antarctic Peninsula(AP) region, based on daily precipitation, synoptic records and ERA-Interim data during the austral summers of 1985-2014. Overall, there was no trend in the total precipitation amount or days, but the phase of summer precipitation(rainfall days versus snowfall days)showed opposite trends ...     

Effect of spring soil moisture over the Indo-China Peninsula on the following summer extreme precipitation events over the Yangtze River basin

Climate Dynamics - Extreme precipitation events (EPEs) over the Yangtze River basin (YRB) exert widespread impacts on regional ecological environment and people’s life. Using observed...     

Role of interaction between dynamics,thermodynamics and cloud microphysics on summer monsoon precipitating clouds over the Myanmar Coast and the Western Ghats

Indian summer monsoon circulation can be characterized by mean tropospheric temperature (TT) gradient between ocean and land. Two major heat sources, one near the Myanmar Coast and the other near the Western Ghats play seminal role in defining this TT gradient. While both regions are characterized by very similar orographic features, there are significant differences in frequency of occurrence of precipitating clouds and their characteristics even when the amount of rain in June–July months is almost same in the two regions. Deeper (shallower) clouds appear more frequently over the Myanmar Coast (the Western Ghats). There is a sharp decrease in amount of rainfall from June–July to August–September in both the areas. Rather counter intuitively, during the June–July–August–September season, low and moderate rains contribute more to the total rain in the Myanmar Coast while heavy rains contribute more to the total rain in the Western Ghats. Western Ghats also gets more intense rains but less frequently. With significant differences in moisture availability, updraft, amount and characteristics of cloud condensate in the two regions, this study proposes that the nontrivial differences in features between them could be explained by linkages between cloud microphysics and large scale dynamics. Presence of more cloud liquid water and the role of giant cloud condensation nuclei reveals dominance of warm rain process in the Western Ghats whereas more cloud ice, snow and graupel formation in the Myanmar Coast indicates stronger possibility of cold rain coming from mixed phase processes. Stronger heating caused by mixed phase process in the mid and upper troposphere in the Myanmar Coast and its feedback on buoyancy of air parcel explains the appearance of deeper clouds. Thus, our study highlights importance of mixed phase processes, a major cause of uncertainty in GCMs.     

2014年夏季青藏高原云和降水微物理特征的数值模拟研究

为了加强对青藏高原（高原）云和降水微物理特征的深入认识,采用高分辨率中尺度数值预报模式（WRF）,对第三次青藏高原大气科学试验2014年7月3-25日发生的6次不同强度云和降水过程进行了数值模拟分析。研究结果表明:（1）青藏高原夏季云和降水过程具有独特性。高原夏季对流的促发机制主要是午后高原加热造成的,云和降水具有明显的日变化。午夜后,对流性降水一般转化为层状云降水,具有明显的0℃层回波亮带,并且会产生强降水。大部分对流云云顶高度超过15 km（海拔高度）,最大上升气流速度为10-40 m/s。（2）6次云过程中均具有高过冷云水含量,主要分布在0—-20℃层,冰晶含量主要分布在-20℃层以上的区域,强盛的对流云中,可出现在-40℃层以上区域;雨水集中分布在融化层之下,说明其主要依赖降水性冰粒子的融化过程;雪和霰粒子含量高,分布范围广,说明云中冰相过程非常活跃。（3）高原夏季云中水凝物的转化过程和降水的形成机理具有明显特点。霰粒子的融化过程是地面雨水的主要来源,暖雨过程对降水的直接贡献很小,但通过暖雨过程形成的过冷雨滴的异质冻结过程对云中霰胚的形成十分重要。霰粒子的增长主要依靠凇附过程以及聚并雪晶的增长过程。      

Effect of aerosol pollution on clouds and its dependence on precipitation intensity

In this study, simulations performed with a large-eddy resolving numerical model are used to examine the effect of aerosol on cumulus clouds, and how this effect varies with precipitation intensity. By systematically varying the surface moisture fluxes, the modeled precipitation rate is forced to change from weak to strong intensity. For each of these intensities, simulations of a high-aerosol case (a polluted case with a higher aerosol concentration) and a low-aerosol case (a clean case with a lower aerosol concentration) are performed. Whether or not precipitation and associated sub-cloud evaporation and convective available potential energy (CAPE) are large, liquid–water path (LWP) is larger in the high-aerosol case than in the low-aerosol case over the first two-thirds of the entire simulation period. In weak precipitation cases, reduction in aerosol content leads to changes in CAPE in the middle parts of cloud layers, which in turn induces larger LWP in the low-aerosol case over the last third of the simulation period. With strong precipitation, stronger stabilization of the sub-cloud layers in the low-aerosol case counters the CAPE changes in the middle parts of cloud layers, inducing smaller LWP in the low-aerosol case over the last third of the simulation period. The results highlight an interaction between aerosol effects on CAPE above cloud base and those in sub-cloud layers, and indicate the importance of a consideration of aerosol effects on CAPE above cloud base as well as those in sub-cloud layers. In the high-aerosol case, near the beginning of the simulation period, larger environmental CAPE does not necessarily lead to larger in-cloud CAPE and associated larger cloud intensity because aerosol-induced increase in cloud population enhances competition among clouds for the environmental CAPE. This demonstrates the importance of the consideration of cloud population for an improved parameterization of convective clouds in climate models.     

Characterization of aerosol optical depth, aerosol mass concentration, UV irradiance and black carbon aerosols over Indo-Gangetic plains, India, during fog period

Every year during winter months (December?CJanuary) fog formation over Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of Indian region is believed to create numerous hazards. The present study addresses variations in aerosol optical properties, aerosol mass concentration and their impact on solar irradiance for pre-during-post fog conditions of December 2004 over IGP, India. Continuous measurements on aerosol optical depth (AOD), total aerosol mass concentration, black carbon (BC) aerosols, UV_ery and UVA were carried out for pre, during and post fog periods over study site of Allahabad, India, during December 2004 as a part of Aerosol Land Campaign-II conducted by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). High aerosol mass concentrations were observed during fog and post-fog periods. Accumulation mode particle loading was found to be high during pre-fog period and coarse mode particle loading was observed to be high during fog and post-fog periods. Considerable reduction in UV_ery and UVA irradiance was observed during fog period compared with pre and post-fog periods. Analysis of NOAA-HYSPLIT model runs suggested that enhanced biomass burning episodes down-wind to the study area increased the concentration of AOD and BC.