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Shortwave Aerosol Radiative Forcing from MODIS and CERES observations over the oceans
Author(s) -
Christopher Sundar A.,
Zhang Jianglong
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl014803
Subject(s) - shortwave , environmental science , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , radiative forcing , spectroradiometer , aerosol , radiative transfer , forcing (mathematics) , satellite , remote sensing , atmospheric sciences , climatology , meteorology , geology , reflectivity , physics , quantum mechanics , astronomy , optics
Using spatially and temporally collocated data sets from the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate‐Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on the Terra satellite, a new strategy is presented for studying the Shortwave Aerosol Radiative Forcing (SWARF) over the global oceans. Using collocated data, for September 2000, the global averaged optical thickness (τ 0.55 ) for cloud‐free CERES pixels is 0.07 with a SWARF of −6 Wm −2 . The τ 0.55 and SWARF values derived from two independent instruments are in excellent agreement with the following relationship: SWARF = 0.35 −105.34τ 0.55 +61.47τ 0.55 2 (0 ≤ τ 0.55 ≤ 0.7) Wm −2 . The synergistic use of the MODIS and CERES data sets can be used to provide independent estimates of SWARF, and can be used as a validation tool for studies that attempt to model the role of aerosols on climate.