Abstract
This chapter focuses on the radiative effects of aerosols in the solar part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The concepts are introduced using simplified expressions for scattering and absorbing aerosols, highlighting the importance of aerosol upscatter, single scattering albedo and surface albedo. Exact calculations are then presented for different aerosol types for top-of-atmosphere, surface and atmospheric radiative forcing. An assessment of the radiative forcing due to aerosol–radiation interactions is then presented and the role of rapid adjustments (also known as the aerosol semidirect effect) is discussed according to atmospheric conditions. Finally, the mechanisms of the aerosol radiative impacts on the snowpack are discussed and quantified.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Cloud free conditions are often referred to as clear sky in contrast to cloudy sky or all sky conditions.
- 2.
The solar constant is the flux of solar radiation outside the atmosphere crossing a surface perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the solar radiation.
References
Bellouin N, Boucher O (March 2010) Climate response and efficacy of snow albedo forcing in the HadGEM2-AML climate model, Hadley Centre Technical Note, HCTN82
Bellouin N, Boucher O, Haywood J, Reddy MS (2005) Estimate of aerosol direct effects over land and oceans from MODIS. Nature 438:1138–1141
Boucher O, Randall D, Artaxo P, Bretherton C, Feingold G, Forster P, Kerminen V-M, Kondo Y, Liao H, Lohmann U, Rasch P, Satheesh SK, Sherwood S, Stevens B, Zhang XY (2013) Clouds and aerosols. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley PM (eds) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 571–657
Carslaw KS, Lee LA, Reddington CL, Pringle KJ, Rap A, Forster PM, Mann GW, Spracklen DV, Woodhouse MT, Regayre LA, Pierce JR (2013) Large contribution of natural aerosols to uncertainty in indirect forcing. Nature 503:67–71
Charlson RJ, Langner J, Rodhe H, Leovy CB, Warren SG (1991) Perturbation of the northern hemisphere radiative balance by backscattering from anthropogenic sulfate aerosols. Tellus 43B:152–163
Doherty SJ, Warren SG, Grenfell TC, Clarke AD, Brandt RE (2010) Light-absorbing impurities in Arctic snow. Atmos Chem Phys 10:11647–11680
Flanner MG, Zender CS, Randerson JT, Rasch PJ (2007) Present-day climate forcing and response from black carbon in snow. J Geophys Res 112:D11202. doi:10.1029/2006JD008003
Flanner MG, Zender CS, Hess PG, Mahowald NM, Painter TH, Ramanathan V, Rasch PJ (2009) Springtime warming and reduced snow cover from carbonaceous particles. Atmos Chem Phys 9:2481–2497
Ginoux P, Prospero JM, Gill TE, Hsu NC, Zhao M (2012) Global-scale attribution of anthropogenic and natural dust sources and their emission rates based on MODIS Deep Blue aerosol products. Rev Geophys 50:RG3005. doi:10.1029/2012RG000388
Hadley OL, Kirchstetter TW (2012) Black-carbon reduction of snow albedo. Nat Clim Change 2:437–440
Hansen JE, Sato M, Ruedy R (1997) Radiative forcing and climate response. J Geophys Res 102:6831–6864
Haywood JM, Shine KP (1995) The effect of anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosol on the clear sky planetary radiation budget. Geophys Res Lett 22:603–606
Johnson BT, Shine KP, Forster PM (2004) The semi-direct aerosol effect: impact of absorbing aerosols on marine stratocumulus. Q J Royal Meteorol Soc 130:1407–1422
Koch D, Del Genio AD (2010) Black carbon semi-direct effects on cloud cover: review and synthesis. Atmos Chem Phys 10:7685–7696
Sherwood S, Bony S, Boucher O, Bretherton C, Forster P, Gregory J, Stevens B (2015) Adjustments to the forcing-feedback framework for understanding climate change. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 96. doi:10.1175/BAns-D-13-00167.1
Stier P, Schutgens NAJ, Bellouin N, Bian H, Boucher O, Chin M, Ghan S, Huneeus N, Kinne S, Lin G, Ma X, Myhre G, Penner JE, Randles CA, Samset B, Schulz M, Takemura T, Yu F, Yu H, Zhou C (2013) Host model uncertainties in aerosol forcing estimates: results from the AeroCom Prescribed Intercomparison Study. Atmos Chem Phys 13:3245–3270
Warren SG, Wiscombe WJ (1980) A model for the spectral albedo of snow. II: snow containing atmospheric aerosols. J Atmos Sci 37:2734–2745
Further Reading (Textbooks and Articles)
Bellouin N, Boucher O, Vesperini M, Tanré D (2004) Estimating the aerosol direct radiative perturbation: impact of the ocean surface representation and aerosol non-sphericity. Q J Royal Meteorol Soc 130:2217–2232
Haywood JM, Boucher O (2000) Estimates of the direct and indirect radiative forcing due to tropospheric aerosols: a review. Rev Geophys 38:513–543
Kahn RA (2012) Reducing the uncertainties in direct aerosol radiative forcing. Surv Geophys 33:701–721
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Netherlands
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Boucher, O. (2015). Aerosol–Radiation Interactions. In: Atmospheric Aerosols. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9649-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9649-1_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9648-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9649-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)