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Downward solar global irradiance at the surface in São Paulo city—The climatological effects of aerosol and clouds
Author(s) -
Yamasoe M. A.,
Rosário N. M. E.,
Barros K. M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2016jd025585
Subject(s) - aerosol , irradiance , shortwave , atmospheric sciences , radiative transfer , environmental science , solar irradiance , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , cloud fraction , cloud cover , climatology , meteorology , geography , physics , cloud computing , geology , quantum mechanics , computer science , operating system
We analyzed the variability of downward solar irradiance reaching the surface at São Paulo city, Brazil, and estimated the climatological aerosol and cloud radiative effects. Eleven years of irradiance were analyzed, from 2005 to 2015. To distinguish the aerosol from the cloud effect, the radiative transfer code LibRadtran was used to calculate downward solar irradiance. Two runs were performed, one considering only ozone and water vapor daily variability, with AOD set to zero and the second allowing the three variables to change, according to mean climatological values. The difference of the 24 h mean irradiance calculated with and without aerosol resulted in the shortwave aerosol direct radiative effect, while the difference between the measured and calculated, including the aerosol, represented the cloud effect. Results showed that, climatologically, clouds can be 4 times more effective than aerosols. The cloud shortwave radiative effect presented a maximum reduction of about −170 W m −2 in January and a minimum in July, of −37 W m −2 . The aerosol direct radiative effect was maximum in spring, when the transport of smoke from the Amazon and central parts of South America is frequent toward São Paulo. Around mid‐September, the 24 h radiative effect due to aerosol only was estimated to be −50 W m −2 . Throughout the rest of the year, the mean aerosol effect was around −20 W m −2 and was attributed to local urban sources. The effect of the cloud fraction on the cloud modification factor, defined as the ratio of all‐sky irradiation to cloudless sky irradiation, showed dependence on the cloud height. Low clouds presented the highest impact while the presence of high clouds only almost did not affect solar transmittance, even in overcast conditions.