Open AccessRadiative effects of absorbing aerosols and the impact of water vapor
Author(s) -
Kay Merlinde J.,
Box Michael
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2000jd900065
Subject(s) - aerosol , radiative forcing , atmospheric sciences , water vapor , troposphere , relative humidity , environmental science , tropopause , radiative transfer , albedo (alchemy) , soot , single scattering albedo , absorption (acoustics) , meteorology , materials science , chemistry , physics , combustion , optics , art , organic chemistry , performance art , composite material , art history
The radiative effects (both forcing at the tropopause and absorption in the lower troposphere) of standard aerosol models are examined as a function of relative humidity. Several of the models are also modified by the inclusion of additional soot, in line with recent observations. Increasing relative humidity causes many aerosol types to expand and also increases their single‐scattering albedo. We have examined the impacts of these changes and also the interaction between aerosol growth and absorption of solar radiation by water vapor. These effects are seen not to be additive, especially in the case of flux divergence due to absorbing aerosols.