Aerosol Absorption: Progress Towards Global and Regional Constraints

Samset, Bjorn H ; Stjem, Camilla W ; Andrews, Elisabeth ; Kahn, Ralph A [Point of Contact] ; Myhre, Gunnar ; Schulz, Michael ; Schuster, Gregory L

关键词: AEROSOLS;    ALBEDO;    ATMOSPHERIC ATTENUATION;    CARBON;    CHARACTERIZATION;    CLIMATE;    CLOUD PHYSICS;    COATING;    DUST;    ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS;    HIGH RESOLUTION;    MAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS;    METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS;    OPTICAL THICKNESS;    SCATTERING;    SIZE DISTRIBUTION;    SOLAR RADIATION;   

RP-ID  :  NF1676L-29026

学科分类：大气科学

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

Some aerosols absorb solar radiation, altering cloud properties, atmospheric stability and circulation dynamics, and the water cycle. Here we review recent progress towards global and regional constraints on aerosol absorption from observations and modeling, considering physical properties and combined approaches crucial for understanding the total (natural and anthropogenic) influences of aerosols on the climate. We emphasize developments in black carbon absorption alteration due to coating and ageing, brown carbon characterization, dust composition, absorbing aerosol above cloud, source modeling and size distributions, and validation of high-resolution modeling against a range of observations. Both observations and modeling of total aerosol absorption, absorbing aerosol optical depths and single scattering albedo, as well as the vertical distribution of atmospheric absorption, still suffer from uncertainties and unknowns significant for climate applications. We offer a roadmap of developments needed to bring the field substantially forward.