A New Parameterization Scheme for Shortwave Radiative Properties of Water Clouds

Guotong Zhang Atmospheric Radiation and Satellite Remote Sensing Laboratory, Chengdu Meteorological College, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China

Search for other papers by Guotong Zhang in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Lisheng Xu Atmospheric Radiation and Satellite Remote Sensing Laboratory, Chengdu Meteorological College, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China

Search for other papers by Lisheng Xu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Hongbin Chen Atmospheric Radiation and Satellite Remote Sensing Laboratory, Chengdu Meteorological College, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China

Search for other papers by Hongbin Chen in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

We are aware of a technical issue preventing figures and tables from showing in some newly published articles in the full-text HTML view.
While we are resolving the problem, please use the online PDF version of these articles to view figures and tables.

Abstract

A new parameterization scheme for the shortwave radiative properties of water clouds is presented, using versatile cloud drop size distributions ( DSDs). As for single-scattering properties, a new parameterization for cloud optical thickness is proposed by using the separation of the dependence of r on the total number of theDSDs, the cloud thickness, and the liquid water content, combined with equivalent radius. The cloud bulk radiative properties are obtained from the delta-Eddington approximation for our cloud models. It is shown that the flux reflectivity, transmissivity, and absorptivity are uniquely fitted by a dimensionless parameter X or the cloud optical thickness 7. The parameterization is compared with other schemes. The features and potential use of the scheme are discussed.

Abstract

A new parameterization scheme for the shortwave radiative properties of water clouds is presented, using versatile cloud drop size distributions ( DSDs). As for single-scattering properties, a new parameterization for cloud optical thickness is proposed by using the separation of the dependence of r on the total number of theDSDs, the cloud thickness, and the liquid water content, combined with equivalent radius. The cloud bulk radiative properties are obtained from the delta-Eddington approximation for our cloud models. It is shown that the flux reflectivity, transmissivity, and absorptivity are uniquely fitted by a dimensionless parameter X or the cloud optical thickness 7. The parameterization is compared with other schemes. The features and potential use of the scheme are discussed.

Save