Technical note: Fu–Liou–Gu and Corti–Peter model performance evaluation for radiative retrievals from cirrus clouds
We compare, for the first time, the performance of a simplified atmospheric radiative transfer algorithm package, the Corti–Peter (CP) model, versus the more complex Fu–Liou–Gu (FLG) model, for resolving top-of-the-atmosphere radiative forcing characteristics from single-layer cirrus clouds obtai...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/7025/2017/acp-17-7025-2017.pdf |
| Summary: | We compare, for the first time, the performance of a simplified atmospheric
radiative transfer algorithm package, the Corti–Peter (CP) model, versus the
more complex Fu–Liou–Gu (FLG) model, for resolving top-of-the-atmosphere
radiative forcing characteristics from single-layer cirrus clouds obtained
from the NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network database in 2010 and 2011 at
Singapore and in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, in 2012. Specifically, CP
simplifies calculation of both clear-sky longwave and shortwave radiation
through regression analysis applied to radiative calculations, which
contributes significantly to differences between the two. The results of the
intercomparison show that differences in annual net top-of-the-atmosphere
(TOA) cloud radiative forcing can reach 65 %. This is particularly true
when land surface temperatures are warmer than 288 K, where the CP
regression analysis becomes less accurate. CP proves useful for first-order
estimates of TOA cirrus cloud forcing, but may not be suitable for
quantitative accuracy, including the absolute sign of cirrus cloud daytime
TOA forcing that can readily oscillate around zero globally. |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |