Sensitivities in Satellite Lidar-Derived Estimates of Daytime Top-of-the-Atmosphere Optically Thin Cirrus Cloud Radiative Forcing: A Case Study

Erica K. Dolinar; James R. Campbell; Simone Lolli; Scott C. Ozog; John E. Yorks; Christopher Camacho; Yu Gu; Anthony Bucholtz; Matthew J. McGill

doi:10.1029/2020GL088871

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Sensitivities in Satellite Lidar-Derived Estimates of Daytime Top-of-the-Atmosphere Optically Thin Cirrus Cloud Radiative Forcing: A Case Study

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Sensitivities in Satellite Lidar-Derived Estimates of Daytime Top-of-the-Atmosphere Optically Thin Cirrus Cloud Radiative Forcing: A Case Study

Erica K. Dolinar, James R. Campbell, Simone Lolli, Scott C. Ozog, John E. Yorks, Christopher Camacho, Yu Gu, Anthony Bucholtz and Matthew J. McGill

Geophysical research letters, Vol.47(17), p.e2020GL088871

09/16/2020

DOI: 10.1029/2020GL088871

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Abstract

An optically thin cirrus cloud was profiled concurrently with nadir-pointing 1,064 nm lidars on 11 August 2017 over eastern Texas, including NASA's airborne Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) and space-borne Clouds and Aerosol Transport System (CATS) instruments. Despite resolving fewer (37% vs. 94%) and denser (i.e., more emissive) clouds (average cloud optical depth of 0.10 vs. 0.03, respectively), CATS data render a near-equal estimate of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) net cloud radiative forcing (CRF) versus CPL. The sample-relative TOA net CRF solved from CPL is 1.39 W/m(2), which becomes 1.32 W/m(2)after normalizing by occurrence frequency. Since CATS overestimates extinction for this case, the sample-relative TOA net forcing is similar to 3.0 W/m(2)larger than CPL, with the absolute value reduced to within 0.3 W/m(2)of CPL due its underestimation of cloud occurrence. We discuss the ramifications of thin cirrus cloud detectability from satellite and its impact on attempts at TOA CRF closure.

Geology

Physical Sciences

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Sensitivities in Satellite Lidar-Derived Estimates of Daytime Top-of-the-Atmosphere Optically Thin Cirrus Cloud Radiative Forcing: A Case Study
Creators: Erica K. Dolinar - American Society For Engineering Education
James R. Campbell - United States Naval Research Laboratory
Simone Lolli - National Research Council - Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis
Scott C. Ozog - University of Maryland, College Park
John E. Yorks - Goddard Space Flight Center
Christopher Camacho - United States Naval Research Laboratory
Yu Gu - University of California, Los Angeles
Anthony Bucholtz - Naval Postgraduate School
Matthew J. McGill - Goddard Space Flight Center
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Geophysical research letters, Vol.47(17), p.e2020GL088871
DOI: 10.1029/2020GL088871
ISSN: 0094-8276
eISSN: 1944-8007
Publisher: Amer Geophysical Union
Number of pages: 8
Grant note: BE033-03-45-T008-17 / Naval Research Laboratory Base Program
Language: English
Date published: 09/16/2020
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984276455202771

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