Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Transmission of Solar Radiation by Clouds over Snow and Ice Surfaces: A Parameterization in Terms of Optical Depth, Solar Zenith Angle, and Surface Albedo

Melanie F. Fitzpatrick Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Search for other papers by Melanie F. Fitzpatrick in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Richard E. Brandt Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Search for other papers by Richard E. Brandt in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Stephen G. Warren Department of Earth and Space Sciences, and Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Search for other papers by Stephen G. Warren in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
15 Jan 2004
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<0266:TOSRBC>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
266–275
Restricted access

Abstract

A multilevel spectral radiative transfer model is used to develop simple but accurate parameterizations for cloud transmittance as a function of cloud optical depth, solar zenith angle, and surface albedo, for use over snow, ice, and water surfaces. The same functional form is used for broadband and spectral transmittances, but with different coefficients for each spectral interval. When the parameterization is applied to measurements of “raw” cloud transmittance (the ratio of downward irradiance under cloud to downward irradiance measured under clear sky at the same zenith angle), an “effective” optical depth τ is inferred for the cloud field, which may be inhomogeneous and even patchy. This effective optical depth is only a convenient intermediate quantity, not an end in itself. It can then be used to compute what the transmittance of this same cloud field would be under different conditions of solar illumination and surface albedo, to obtain diurnal and seasonal cycles of cloud radiative forcing. The parameterization faithfully mimics the radiative transfer model, with rms errors of 1%–2%. Lack of knowledge of cloud droplet sizes causes little error in the inference of cloud radiative properties. The parameterization is applied to pyranometer measurements from a ship in the Antarctic sea ice zone; the largest source of error in inference of inherent cloud properties is uncertainty in surface albedo.

Corresponding author address: Melanie F. Fitzpatrick, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195. Email: fitz@atmos.washington.edu

Abstract

A multilevel spectral radiative transfer model is used to develop simple but accurate parameterizations for cloud transmittance as a function of cloud optical depth, solar zenith angle, and surface albedo, for use over snow, ice, and water surfaces. The same functional form is used for broadband and spectral transmittances, but with different coefficients for each spectral interval. When the parameterization is applied to measurements of “raw” cloud transmittance (the ratio of downward irradiance under cloud to downward irradiance measured under clear sky at the same zenith angle), an “effective” optical depth τ is inferred for the cloud field, which may be inhomogeneous and even patchy. This effective optical depth is only a convenient intermediate quantity, not an end in itself. It can then be used to compute what the transmittance of this same cloud field would be under different conditions of solar illumination and surface albedo, to obtain diurnal and seasonal cycles of cloud radiative forcing. The parameterization faithfully mimics the radiative transfer model, with rms errors of 1%–2%. Lack of knowledge of cloud droplet sizes causes little error in the inference of cloud radiative properties. The parameterization is applied to pyranometer measurements from a ship in the Antarctic sea ice zone; the largest source of error in inference of inherent cloud properties is uncertainty in surface albedo.

Corresponding author address: Melanie F. Fitzpatrick, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195. Email: fitz@atmos.washington.edu

Save
Cover Journal of Climate
Journal of Climate

  • Allison, I., R. E. Brandt, and S. G. Warren, 1993: East Antarctic sea ice: Albedo, thickness distribution, and snow cover. J. Geophys. Res., 98 , 12417–12429.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ayers, G. P., and J. L. Gras, 1991: Seasonal relationship between cloud condensation nuclei and aerosol methanesulphonate in marine air. Nature, 353 , 834–835.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Barker, H. W., T. J. Curtis, E. Leontieva, and K. Stamnes, 1998: Optical depth of overcast cloud across Canada: Estimates based on surface pyranometer and satellite measurements. J. Climate, 11 , 2980–2994.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Boers, R., and P. B. Krummel, 1998: Microphysical properties of boundary layer clouds over the Southern Ocean during ACE 1. J. Geophys. Res., 103 , 16651–16633.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Boers, R., A. van Lammeren, and A. Feijt, 2000: Accuracy of cloud optical depth retrievals from ground-based pyranometers. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 17 , 916–927.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brandt, R. E., C. S. Roesler, and S. G. Warren, 1999: Spectral albedo, absorptance, and transmittance of Antarctic sea ice. Preprints, Fifth Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography, Dallas, TX, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 456–459.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Briegleb, B., and V. Ramanathan, 1982: Spectral and diurnal variations in clear sky planetary albedo. J. Appl. Meteor., 21 , 1160–1171.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cess, R. D., 1990: Intercomparison and interpretation of climate feedback processes in 19 atmospheric general circulation models. J. Geophys. Res., 95 , 16601–16615.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Dozier, J., 1989: Spectral signature of alpine snow cover from the Landsat Thematic Mapper. Remote Sens. Environ., 28 , 9–22.

  • Fu, Q., 1996: An accurate parameterization of the solar radiative properties of cirrus clouds for climate models. J. Climate, 9 , 2058–2082.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Gardiner, B. G., 1987: Solar radiation transmitted to the ground through cloud in relation to surface albedo. J. Geophys. Res., 92 , 4010–4018.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grenfell, T. C., and D. K. Perovich, 1984: Spectral albedos of sea ice and incident solar irradiance in the southern Beaufort Sea. J. Geophys. Res., 89 , 3573–3580.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grenfell, T. C., and S. G. Warren, 1999: Representation of a nonspherical ice particle by a collection of independent spheres for scattering and absorption of radiation. J. Geophys. Res., 104 , 31697–31709.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grenfell, T. C., S. G. Warren, and P. C. Mullen, 1994: Reflection of solar radiation by the Antarctic snow surface at ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths. J. Geophys. Res., 99 , 18669–18684.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hahn, C. J., W. B. Rossow, and S. G. Warren, 2001: ISCCP cloud properties associated with standard cloud types identified in individual surface observations. J. Climate, 14 , 11–28.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hale, G. M., and M. R. Querry, 1973: Optical constants of water in the 200-nm to 200-μm wavelength region. Appl. Opt., 12 , 555–563.

  • Jayaweera, K. O. L. F., and T. Ohtake, 1973: Concentration of ice crystals in Arctic stratus clouds. J. Rech. Atmos., 7 , 199–207.

  • Labs, D., and H. Neckel, 1970: Transformation of the absolute solar radiation data into the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1968. Solar Phys., 15 , 79–87.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Leontyeva, E., and K. Stamnes, 1994: Estimations of cloud optical thickness from ground-based measurements of incoming solar radiation in the Arctic. J. Climate, 7 , 566–578.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Leontyeva, E., and K. Stamnes, 1996: Remote sensing of cloud optical properties from ground-based measurements of transmittance: A feasibility study. J. Appl. Meteor., 35 , 2011–2022.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lubin, D., and A. S. Simpson, 1997: Measurement of surface radiation fluxes and cloud optical properties during the 1994 Arctic Ocean section. J. Geophys. Res., 102 , 4275–4286.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Mahesh, A., V. P. Walden, and S. G. Warren, 2001: Ground-based infrared remote sensing of cloud properties over the Antarctic Plateau. Part II: Cloud optical depths and particle sizes. J. Appl. Meteor., 40 , 1279–1294.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McClatchey, R. A., R. W. Fenn, J. F. A. Selby, F. E. Volz, and J. S. Garing, 1972: Optical properties of the atmosphere. 3d ed. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory Rep. AFCRL-72-0497, Hanscom, MA, 108 pp.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Neckel, H., and D. Labs, 1984: The solar radiation between 3300 and 12,500 Angstorms. Solar Phys., 90 , 205–258.

  • Neshyba, S. P., T. C. Grenfell, and S. G. Warren, 2003: Representation of a nonspherical ice particle by a collection of independent spheres for scattering and absorption of radiation: II. Hexagonal columns and plates. J. Geophys. Res., 108 .. 4448, doi:10.1029/2002JD003302.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nussenzveig, H. M., and W. J. Wiscombe, 1980: Efficiency factors in Mie scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett., 45 , 1490–1494.

  • Press, W. H., S. A. Teukolsky, W. T. Vetterling, and B. P. Flannery, 1992: Numerical Recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing. Cambridge University Press, 994 pp.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Reist, P. C., 1993: Aerosol Science and Technology. McGraw-Hill, 379 pp.

  • Rossow, W. B., and R. A. Schiffer, 1999: Advances in understanding clouds from ISCCP. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 80 , 2261–2287.

  • Schuster, A., 1905: Radiation through a foggy atmosphere. Astrophys. J., 21 , 1–22.

  • Shine, K. P., 1984: Parameterisation of the shortwave flux over high albedo surfaces as a function of cloud thickness and surface albedo. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 110 , 747–764.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Stokes, G. M., and S. E. Schwartz, 1994: The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program—Programmatic background and design of the cloud and radiation test-bed. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 75 , 1201–1221.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Warren, S. G., 1982: Optical properties of snow. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys., 20 , 67–89.

  • Warren, S. G., 1984: Optical constants of ice from the ultraviolet to the microwave. Appl. Opt., 23 , 1206–1225.

  • Warren, S. G., C. J. Hahn, J. London, R. M. Chervin, and R. L. Jenne, 1986: Global distribution of total cloud cover and cloud type amounts over land. NCAR Tech. Note TN-273+STR, Boulder, CO, 29 pp. and 200 maps.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Warren, S. G., C. J. Hahn, J. London, R. M. Chervin, and R. L. Jenne, 1988: Global distribution of total cloud cover and cloud type amounts over the ocean. NCAR Tech. Note TN-317+STR, Boulder, CO, 42 pp. and 170 maps.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wiscombe, W. J., 1975: Solar radiation calculations for Arctic summer stratus conditions. Climate of the Arctic. G. Weller and S. A. Bowling, Eds., University of Alaska Press, 245–254.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wiscombe, W. J., 1980: Improved Mie scattering algorithms. Appl. Opt., 19 , 1505–1509.

  • Wiscombe, W. J., R. M. Welch, and W. D. Hall, 1984: The effects of very large drops on cloud absorption. Part I: Parcel models. J. Atmos. Sci., 41 , 1336–1355.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 1195 315 11
PDF Downloads 902 219 11