Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Global Survey of the Relationships of Cloud Albedo and Liquid Water Path with Droplet Size Using ISCCP

Qingyuan Han Department of Atmospheric Science, Global Hydrology and Climate Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama

Search for other papers by Qingyuan Han in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
William B. Rossow NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York

Search for other papers by William B. Rossow in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Joyce Chou Department of Atmospheric Science, Global Hydrology and Climate Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Search for other papers by Joyce Chou in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Ronald M. Welch Department of Atmospheric Science, Global Hydrology and Climate Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Search for other papers by Ronald M. Welch in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jul 1998
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1998)011<1516:GSOTRO>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1516–1528
Restricted access

Abstract

The most common approach used to model the aerosol indirect effect on clouds holds the cloud liquid water path constant. In this case, increasing aerosol concentration increases cloud droplet concentration, decreases cloud droplet size, and increases cloud albedo. The expected decrease in cloud droplet size associated with larger aerosol concentrations has been found to be larger over land than over water and larger in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere, but the corresponding cloud albedo increase has not been found. Many previous studies have shown that cloud liquid water path varies with changing cloud droplet size, which may alter the behavior of clouds when aerosols change. This study examines the relationship between geographic and seasonal variations of cloud effective droplet size and cloud albedo, as well as cloud liquid water path, in low-level clouds using International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data. The results show that cloud albedo increases with decreasing droplet size for most clouds over continental areas and for all optically thicker clouds, but that cloud albedo decreases with decreasing droplet size for optically thinner clouds over most oceans and the tropical rain forest regions. For almost all clouds, the liquid water path increases with increasing cloud droplet size.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Qingyuan Han, Department of Atmospheric Science, Global Hydrology and Climate Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 977 Explorer Blvd., Huntsville, AL 35899. E-mail: han@atmos.uah.edu

Abstract

The most common approach used to model the aerosol indirect effect on clouds holds the cloud liquid water path constant. In this case, increasing aerosol concentration increases cloud droplet concentration, decreases cloud droplet size, and increases cloud albedo. The expected decrease in cloud droplet size associated with larger aerosol concentrations has been found to be larger over land than over water and larger in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere, but the corresponding cloud albedo increase has not been found. Many previous studies have shown that cloud liquid water path varies with changing cloud droplet size, which may alter the behavior of clouds when aerosols change. This study examines the relationship between geographic and seasonal variations of cloud effective droplet size and cloud albedo, as well as cloud liquid water path, in low-level clouds using International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data. The results show that cloud albedo increases with decreasing droplet size for most clouds over continental areas and for all optically thicker clouds, but that cloud albedo decreases with decreasing droplet size for optically thinner clouds over most oceans and the tropical rain forest regions. For almost all clouds, the liquid water path increases with increasing cloud droplet size.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Qingyuan Han, Department of Atmospheric Science, Global Hydrology and Climate Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 977 Explorer Blvd., Huntsville, AL 35899. E-mail: han@atmos.uah.edu

Save
Cover Journal of Climate
Journal of Climate

  • Ackerman, A. S., O. B. Toon, and P. V. Hobbs, 1995: Numerical modeling of ship tracks produced by injections of cloud condensation nuclei into marine stratiform clouds. J. Geophys. Res.,100, 7121–7133.

  • Albrecht, B. A., 1989: Aerosols, cloud microphysics and fractional cloudiness. Science,245, 1227–1230.

  • ——, C. S. Bretherton, D. Johnson, W. H. Schubert, and A. S. Frisch, 1995: The Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment—ASTEX. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.,76, 889–904.

  • Boucher, O., and U. Lohmann, 1995: The sulfate-CCN-cloud albedo effect: A sensitivity study with two general circulation models. Tellus,47B, 281–300.

  • Carrier, L. W., G. A. Cate, and K. J. von Essen, 1967: The backscattering and extinction of visible and IR radiation by selected major cloud models. Appl. Opt.,6, 1209–1216.

  • Charlson, R. J., J. E. Lovelock, M. O. Andreae, and S. G. Warren, 1987: Oceanic phytoplankton, atmospheric sulphur, cloud albedo and climate. Nature,326, 655–661.

  • ——, S. E. Schwartz, J. M. Hales, R. D. Cess, J. A. Coakley Jr., J. E. Hansen, and D. J. Hofmann, 1992: Climate forcing by anthropogenic aerosols. Science,255, 423–430.

  • Coakley, J. A., R. L. Bernstein, and P. A. Durkee, 1987: Effect of ship-stack effluents on cloud reflectivity. Science,237, 1020–1022.

  • Considine, G., 1997: Modeling the diurnal variability in cloud microphysics in boundary layer clouds. J. Geophys. Res.,102, 1717–1726.

  • del Genio, A. D., M. S. Yao, W. Kovari, and K. K. W. Lo, 1996: A prognostic cloud water parameterization for global climate models. J. Climate,9, 270–304.

  • Dytch, H., 1975: Urban influences on cloud microstructure downwind from St. Louis, Missouri: Lower level observations. J. Rech. Atmos.,9, 145–156.

  • Fitzgerald, J. W., and P. A. Spyers-Duran, 1973: Changes in cloud nucleus concentration and cloud droplet size distribution associated with pollution from St. Louis. J. Appl. Meteor.,12, 511–516.

  • Fouquart, Y., J. C. Buriez, M. Herman, and R. S. Kandel, 1990: The influence of clouds on radiation: A climate-modeling perspective. Rev. Geophys.,28, 145–166.

  • Fowler, L. D., D. A. Randall, and S. A. Rutledge, 1996: Liquid and ice cloud microphysics in the CSU General Circulation Model. Part I: Model description and simulated microphysical processes. J. Climate,9, 489–529.

  • Ghan, S. J., L. R. Leung, R. C. Easter, and H. A. Razzak, 1997: Prediction of cloud droplet number in a general circulation model. J. Geophys. Res.,102, 21777–21794.

  • Greenwald, T. J., S. A. Christopher, and J. Chou, 1997: SSM/I and GOES-8 imager comparisons of cloud liquid water path over water: Assessment of sub-field of view effects in microwave retrievals. J. Geophys. Res.,98, 18471–18488.

  • Griggs, M., 1983: Satellite measurements of tropospheric aerosols. Adv. Space Res.,2, 109–118.

  • Han, Q., W. B. Rossow, and A. A. Lacis, 1994: Near-global survey of effective droplet radii in liquid water clouds using ISCCP data. J. Climate,7, 465–497.

  • ——, ——, R. Welch, A. White, and J. Chou, 1995: Validation of satellite retrievals of cloud microphysics and liquid water path using observations from FIRE. J. Atmos. Sci.,52, 4183–4195.

  • Hansen, J. E., and L. D. Travis, 1974: Light scattering in planetary atmospheres. Space Sci. Rev.,16, 527–610.

  • Hobbs, P. V., L. F. Radke, and S. E. Shumway, 1970: Cloud condensation nuclei from industrial sources and their apparent influence on precipitation in Washington State. J. Atmos. Sci.,27, 81–89.

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 1996: Climate Change 1995. The Science of Climate Change. J. T. Houghton, L. G. Meira Filho, B. A. Callander, N. Harris, A. Katenberg, and K. Maskell, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 572 pp.

  • Jones, A., and A. Slingo, 1996: Predicting cloud-droplet effective radius and indirect sulphate aerosol forcing using a general circulation model. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,122, 1573–1595.

  • ——, D. L. Roberts, and A. Slingo, 1994: A climate model study of indirect radiative forcing by anthropogenic sulphate aerosols. Nature,370, 450–453.

  • Kaufman, Y. J., and T. Nakajima, 1993: Effect of Amazon smoke on cloud microphysics and albedo—Analysis from satellite imagery. J. Appl. Meteor.,32, 729–744.

  • King, M. D., L. F. Radke, and P. V. Hobbs, 1993: Optical properties of marine stratocumulus clouds modified by ships. J. Geophys. Res.,98 (D), 2729–2739.

  • Lacis, A. A., and V. Oinas, 1991: A description of the correlated k-distribution method for modeling non-grey gaseous absorption, thermal emission, and multiple scattering in vertically inhomogeneous atmospheres. J. Geophys. Res.,96, 9027–9063.

  • Langner, J., H. Rodhe, P. J. Crutzen, and P. Zimmermann, 1992: Anthropogenic influence on the distribution of tropospheric sulphate aerosol. Nature,359, 712–716.

  • Leaitch, W. R., G. A. Isaac, J. W. Strapp, C. M. Banic, and H. A. Wiebe, 1992: The relationship between cloud droplet number concentrations and anthropogenic pollution: Observations and climatic implications. J. Geophys. Res.,97, 2463–2474.

  • Lin, B., and W. B. Rossow, 1994: Observations of cloud liquid water path over oceans: Optical and microwave remote sensing methods. J. Geophys. Res.,99, 20907–20927.

  • ——, and ——, 1996: Seasonal variation of liquid and ice water path in nonprecipitating clouds over oceans. J. Climate,9, 2890–2902.

  • Martin, G. M., D. W. Johnson, and A. Spice, 1994: The measurement and parameterization of effective radius of droplets in warm stratocumulus clouds. J. Atmos. Sci.,51, 1823–1842.

  • Minnis, P., P. W. Heck, D. F. Young, C. W. Fairall, and J. B. Snider, 1992: Stratocumulus cloud properties derived from simultaneous satellite and island-based instrumentation during FIRE. J. Appl Meteor.,31, 317–339.

  • Nakajima, T., M. D. King, and J. D. Spinhirne, 1991: Determination of the optical thickness and effective particle radius of clouds from reflected solar radiation measurements. Part II: Marine stratocumulus observations. J. Atmos. Sci.,48, 728–750.

  • Platnick, S., and S. Twomey, 1994: Determining the susceptibility of cloud albedo to changes in droplet concentration with the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. J. Appl. Meteor.,33, 334–347.

  • Radke, L. F., J. A. Coakley Jr., and M. D. King, 1989: Direct and remote sensing observations of the effects of ships on clouds. Science,246, 1146–1149.

  • Rawlins, F., and J. S. Foot, 1990: Remotely sensed measurements of stratocumulus properties during FIRE using the C130 aircraft multi-channel radiometer. J. Atmos. Sci.,47, 2488–2503.

  • Rossow, W. B., 1978: Cloud microphysics: Analysis of the clouds of Earth, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Icarus,36, 1–50.

  • ——, L. C. Garder, and A. A. Lacis, 1989: Global, seasonal cloud variations from satellite radiance measurements. Part I: Sensitivity of analysis. J. Climate,2, 419–458.

  • ——, ——, P. J. Lu, and A. W. Walker, 1991: International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) documentation of cloud data. WMO/TD-No. 266, World Meteor. Org., 76 pp. plus 3 appendices.

  • Schwartz, S. E., 1988: Are global cloud albedo and climate controlled by marine phytoplankton? Nature,336, 441–445.

  • ——, and M. O. Andreae, 1996: Uncertainty in climate change caused by aerosols. Science,272, 1121–1122.

  • ——, and A. Slingo, 1996: Enhanced shortwave cloud radiative forcing due to anthropogenic aerosols. Clouds, Chemistry and Climate, P. J. Crutzen and V. Ramanathan, Eds., NATO ASI Series, Vol. 135, Springer–Verlag, 191–235.

  • Slingo, A., 1988: Can plankton control climate? Nature,336, 421.

  • ——, 1990: Sensitivity of the Earth’s radiation budget to changes in low clouds. Nature,343, 49–51.

  • Smith, R. N. B., 1990: A scheme for predicting layer clouds and their water content in a general circulation model. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,116, 435–460.

  • Stephens, G. L., 1978: Radiation profiles in extended water clouds. Part II: Parameterization schemes. J. Atmos. Sci.,35, 2123–2132.

  • Tiedtke, M., 1993: Representation of clouds in large-scale models. Mon. Wea. Rev.,121, 3040–3061.

  • Twohy, C. H., P. A. Durkee, R. J. Huebert, and R. J. Charlson, 1995:Effects of aerosol particles on the microphysics of coastal stratiform clouds. J. Climate,8, 773–783.

  • Twomey, S., 1977: The influence of pollution on the shortwave albedo of clouds. J. Atmos. Sci.,34, 1149–1152.

  • ——, 1991: Aerosols, clouds and radiation. Atmos. Environ.,25A, 2435–2442.

  • ——, M. Piepgrass, and T. L. Wolfe, 1984: An assessment of the impact of pollution on global cloud albedo. Tellus,36B, 356–366.

  • Wielicki, B. A., and L. Parker, 1992: On the determination of cloud cover from satellite sensors: The effect of sensor spatial resolution. J. Geophys. Res.,97, 12799–12823.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 2364 733 36
PDF Downloads 740 193 4