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U.S. Department of Energy
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Sulfate impact upon low-level cloud albedo over oceans

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:7065893
The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) NOAA-9 scanner measurements have been employed for the purpose of identifying cloud albedo change due to continental sulfur emissions at the Northern Hemisphere. Comparison of cloud albedo over two hemispheric oceans has been made based on the hemispheric imbalance of the anthropogenic sulfur emissions that exists. The present study shows that cloud albedo, particularly in the broad maximum region of sulfur emission off the east coasts of North America and Asia, appears to be affected by the land-transported sulfate aerosols. Although the continental sulfate aerosols substantially modify the marine low-level cloud albedo off the coasts, their dominance over the central ocean appears to be uncertain. The primary sources of cloud albedo variations over the central ocean are considered to be phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations, sea surface temperatures (SST) and solar zenith angle (SZA). The correlation analysis, using chlorophyll concentrations derived from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZSC) and the climatological SST data, respectively, demonstrates that these two variables explain substantial variations of cloud albedo over the central ocean. However, the SZA effect upon the cloud albedo vs. longitude pattern is shown to be negligible.
Research Organization:
State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States)
OSTI ID:
7065893
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English