Evaluation of GCM Column Radiation Models Under Cloudy Conditions with The Arm BBHRP Value Added Product

Abstract

The overarching goal of the project was to improve the transfer of solar and thermal radiation in the most sophisticated computer tools that are currently available for climate studies, namely Global Climate Models (GCMs). This transfer can be conceptually separated into propagation of radiation under cloudy and under cloudless conditions. For cloudless conditions, the factors that affect radiation propagation are gaseous absorption and scattering, aerosol particle absorption and scattering and surface albedo and emissivity. For cloudy atmospheres the factors are the various cloud properties such as cloud fraction, amount of cloud condensate, the size of the cloud particles, and morphological cloud features such as cloud vertical location, cloud horizontal and vertical inhomogeneity and cloud shape and size. The project addressed various aspects of the influence of the above contributors to atmospheric radiative transfer variability. In particular, it examined: (a) the quality of radiative transfer for cloudless and non-complex cloudy conditions for a substantial number of radiation algorithms used in current GCMs; (b) the errors in radiative fluxes from neglecting the horizontal variabiity of cloud extinction; (c) the statistical properties of cloud horizontal and vertical cloud inhomogeneity that can be incorporated into radiative transfer codes; (d) the potential albedo effects ofmore » changes in the particle size of liquid clouds; (e) the gaseous radiative forcing in the presence of clouds; and (f) the relative contribution of clouds of different sizes to the reflectance of a cloud field. To conduct the research in the various facets of the project, data from both the DOE ARM project and other sources were used. The outcomes of the project will have tangible effects on how the calculation of radiative energy will be approached in future editions of GCMs. With better calculations of radiative energy in GCMs more reliable predictions of future climate states will be attainable, thus affecting public policy decisions with great impact to public life.« less