Shortwave spectral radiative forcing of cumulus clouds from surface observations

The spectral changes of the shortwave total, direct and diffuse cloud radiative forcing (CRF) at surface are examined for the first time using spectrally resolved all-sky flux observations and clear-sky fluxes. The latter are computed applying a physically based approach, which accounts for the spectral changes of aerosol optical properties and surface albedo. Application of this approach to 13 summertime days with single-layer continental cumuli demonstrates: (i) the substantial contribution of the diffuse component to the total CRF, (ii) the well-defined spectral variations of total CRF in the visible spectral region, and (iii) the strong statistical relationship between spectral (500 nm) and shortwave broadband values of total CRF. Our results suggest that the framework based on the visible narrowband fluxes can provide important radiative quantities for rigorous evaluation of radiative transfer parameterizations and also can be applied for estimation of the shortwave broadband CRF. Citation: Kassianov, E., J. Barnard, L. K. Berg, C. N. Long, and C. Flynn (2011), Shortwave spectral radiative forcing of cumulus clouds from surface observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L07801, doi: 10.1029/2010GL046282.