Synthesis of Aerosol Observations for Improved Understanding of Radiative Forcing
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington, DC (United States)
The ultimate objective of this project was to gain a better understanding of the relationship between aerosol physical and radiative properties through the integration of measurements from different approaches and platforms. Different types of information can only be gained from different approaches – for example, in situ sampling versus remote sensing – so to provide the best radiative forcing estimates they must be brought together in accurate and meaningful ways. This work involved understanding and characterizing measurement accuracy, integrating measurements from different approaches, and understanding the sensitivity of different aerosol representations from these various approaches to radiative forcing. Our progress involved the assessment of error and bias in aerosol absorption measurements made in situ and by remote sensing, assessment of new chemical composition measurements made by ARM, and determination of the sensitivity of radiative forcing to these measurement errors and the representation of absorption vertical distributions. We also examined the sensitivity of cloud condensation nuclei, cloud microphysics, and cloud radiative forcing to aerosol concentration, microphysical, chemical, and optical properties, and vertical distributions in distinct aerosol regimes.
- Research Organization:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington, DC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0008112
- OSTI ID:
- 1227641
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-NOAA-8112-3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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