Spatial Aggregation of Satellite Observations Leads to an Overestimation of the Radiative Forcing due to Aerosol‐Cloud Interactions

Abstract

AbstractThe estimation of cloud radiative forcing due to aerosol‐cloud interactions, RFaci (also known as the first indirect effect), relies on approximating the cloud albedo susceptibility to changes in droplet concentration, β. β depends on the cloud albedo and droplet concentration, both of which can be observed by satellites. Satellite observations are often spatially aggregated to coarser resolutions, typically 1 × 1° scenes. However, on such spatial scales, the cloud albedo tends to be heterogeneous, whereas the β approximation assumes homogeneity. Here, we demonstrate that the common practice of aggregating satellite data and neglecting cloud albedo heterogeneity results in an average overestimation of 10% in previous estimates of the RFaci. Additionally, we establish a relationship between the magnitude of the bias in β and Stratocumulus morphologies, providing a physical context for cloud heterogeneity and the associated bias. Lastly, we propose a correction method that can be applied to cloud albedo gridded data.