Observations of regional and local variability in the optical properties of maritime clouds

Conference · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:263567

White, A B ^[1]; Fairall, C W ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Colorado at Boulder/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO (United States)
2. Environmental Technology Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)

White and Fairall (1995) calculated the optical properties of the marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds observed during the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) and compared their results with the results obtained by Fairall et al. for the MBL clouds observed during the First International Satellite Climatology Program (ISSCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE). They found a factor of two difference in the optical depth versus liquid water relationship that applies to the clouds observed in each case. In the present study, we present evidence to support this difference. We also investigate the local variability exhibited in the ASTEX optical properties using measurements of the boundary layer aerosol concentration.

• Research Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States). Environmental Sciences Div.
• OSTI ID: 263567
• Report Number(s): CONF-9503140--; ON: DE96010942
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
AEROSOLS
ALGORITHMS
CLOUDS
DROPLETS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
SOLAR RADIATION
WATER