Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements
<p>Cloud–radiation interaction still drives large uncertainties in climate models, and its estimation is key to make more accurate predictions. In this context, high-altitude cirrus clouds play a fundamental role because (1) they have a high occurrence frequency globally and (2) they are the o...
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Copernicus Publications
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/3445/2025/acp-25-3445-2025.pdf |
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| author | C. Gil-Díaz M. Sicard M. Sicard M. Sicard O. Sourdeval A. Saiprakash C. Muñoz-Porcar A. Comerón A. Rodríguez-Gómez D. C. F. D. S. Oliveira |
| author_facet | C. Gil-Díaz M. Sicard M. Sicard M. Sicard O. Sourdeval A. Saiprakash C. Muñoz-Porcar A. Comerón A. Rodríguez-Gómez D. C. F. D. S. Oliveira |
| author_sort | C. Gil-Díaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Cloud–radiation interaction still drives large uncertainties in climate models, and its estimation is key to make more accurate predictions. In this context, high-altitude cirrus clouds play a fundamental role because (1) they have a high occurrence frequency globally and (2) they are the only cloud that can readily cool or warm the atmosphere during daytime, depending on their properties. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effect of cirrus clouds based on 4 years of continuous ground-based lidar measurements with the Barcelona (Spain) Micro Pulse Lidar. First, we introduce a novel approach of a self-consistent scattering model for cirrus clouds to determine their optical scattering properties at different wavelengths using only the extinction coefficient and cloud temperature. Second, we calculate the direct radiative effects of cirrus clouds with the discrete ordinates method, and we validate our results with SolRad-Net pyranometers and NOAA-20 measurements. Third, we present a case study analysing the direct radiative effect of a cirrus cloud along its back-trajectory using data from the Chemical LAgrangian Model of the Stratosphere with microphysics scheme for Ice clouds formation (CLaMS-Ice). The results show that the cirrus clouds with an average ice water content of 4.97 <span class="inline-formula">±</span> 5.53 mg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−3</sup></span>, in the nighttime, have a positive direct radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA; <span class="inline-formula">+40.4</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>) almost twice than at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA; <span class="inline-formula">+22.1</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>); in the daytime, they have generally a negative direct radiative effect at BOA (<span class="inline-formula">−11.5</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>, 82 % of the cases) and always a positive effect at TOA (<span class="inline-formula">+14.2</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>). In these simulations, the influence of the lower layer aerosols is negligible in the cirrus direct radiative effects, with a bias (denoted BIAS) of <span class="inline-formula">−1.2</span> %. For the case study, the net direct radiative effects produced by the cirrus cloud, are from 0 to <span class="inline-formula">+40</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> at TOA and from <span class="inline-formula">−51</span> to <span class="inline-formula">+20</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> at BOA. This study reveals that the complexity of the cirrus cloud direct radiative effect calculation lies in the fact that it is highly sensitive to the cirrus scene properties.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-47b93638c7c8463ca4320e7b8fed07e8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-47b93638c7c8463ca4320e7b8fed07e82025-08-20T02:41:24ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242025-03-01253445346410.5194/acp-25-3445-2025Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurementsC. Gil-Díaz0M. Sicard1M. Sicard2M. Sicard3O. Sourdeval4A. Saiprakash5C. Muñoz-Porcar6A. Comerón7A. Rodríguez-Gómez8D. C. F. D. S. Oliveira9CommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainCommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainCiències i Tecnologies de l'Espai-Centre de Recerca de l'Aeronàutica i de l'Espai/Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (CTE-CRAE/IEEC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainLaboratoire de l'Atmosphère et des Cyclones, Université de La Réunion, Saint Denis, 97744, FranceLaboratorie d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), Université de Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 59650, FranceLaboratorie d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), Université de Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 59650, FranceCommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainCommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainCommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, SpainCommSensLab, Dept of Signal Theory and Communications, Universitat Politècncia de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, 08034, Spain<p>Cloud–radiation interaction still drives large uncertainties in climate models, and its estimation is key to make more accurate predictions. In this context, high-altitude cirrus clouds play a fundamental role because (1) they have a high occurrence frequency globally and (2) they are the only cloud that can readily cool or warm the atmosphere during daytime, depending on their properties. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effect of cirrus clouds based on 4 years of continuous ground-based lidar measurements with the Barcelona (Spain) Micro Pulse Lidar. First, we introduce a novel approach of a self-consistent scattering model for cirrus clouds to determine their optical scattering properties at different wavelengths using only the extinction coefficient and cloud temperature. Second, we calculate the direct radiative effects of cirrus clouds with the discrete ordinates method, and we validate our results with SolRad-Net pyranometers and NOAA-20 measurements. Third, we present a case study analysing the direct radiative effect of a cirrus cloud along its back-trajectory using data from the Chemical LAgrangian Model of the Stratosphere with microphysics scheme for Ice clouds formation (CLaMS-Ice). The results show that the cirrus clouds with an average ice water content of 4.97 <span class="inline-formula">±</span> 5.53 mg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−3</sup></span>, in the nighttime, have a positive direct radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA; <span class="inline-formula">+40.4</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>) almost twice than at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA; <span class="inline-formula">+22.1</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>); in the daytime, they have generally a negative direct radiative effect at BOA (<span class="inline-formula">−11.5</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>, 82 % of the cases) and always a positive effect at TOA (<span class="inline-formula">+14.2</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span>). In these simulations, the influence of the lower layer aerosols is negligible in the cirrus direct radiative effects, with a bias (denoted BIAS) of <span class="inline-formula">−1.2</span> %. For the case study, the net direct radiative effects produced by the cirrus cloud, are from 0 to <span class="inline-formula">+40</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> at TOA and from <span class="inline-formula">−51</span> to <span class="inline-formula">+20</span> W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> at BOA. This study reveals that the complexity of the cirrus cloud direct radiative effect calculation lies in the fact that it is highly sensitive to the cirrus scene properties.</p>https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/3445/2025/acp-25-3445-2025.pdf |
| spellingShingle | C. Gil-Díaz M. Sicard M. Sicard M. Sicard O. Sourdeval A. Saiprakash C. Muñoz-Porcar A. Comerón A. Rodríguez-Gómez D. C. F. D. S. Oliveira Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| title_full | Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| title_fullStr | Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| title_short | Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| title_sort | study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high altitude cirrus clouds in barcelona spain with 4 years of lidar measurements |
| url | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/3445/2025/acp-25-3445-2025.pdf |
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