Comparison of NCEP–NCAR Cloud Radiative Forcing Reanalyses with Observations

Abstract

Abstract Longwave and shortwave cloud radiative forcing from the recently released National Center for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP–NCAR) reanalyses are compared to Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) observations. The observed differences are analyzed utilizing concurrent International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) estimates of cloudiness and other satellite observations. The results show that the NCEP–NCAR longwave cloud forcing agrees well with that of ERBE not only for the annual means but also for seasonal and climatic variations. Areas of disagreement are generally related to disagreements between NCEP–NCAR high cloudiness and observations. Overall, the NCEP–NCAR shortwave cloud forcing is in poorer agreement with ERBE observations. NCEP–NCAR annual means in the Tropics are often 20–30 W m−2 too negative. On the other hand the NCEP–NCAR total cloud cover in this region is 10%–20% less than the ISCCP observations, which should lead to less...