Open AccessRadiative properties and direct radiative effect of Saharan dust measured by the C‐130 aircraft during SHADE: 1. Solar spectrum
Author(s) -
Haywood Jim,
Francis Pete,
Osborne Simon,
Glew Martin,
Loeb Norman,
Highwood Eleanor,
Tanré Didier,
Myhre Gunnar,
Formenti Paola,
Hirst Edwin
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1029/2002jd002687
Subject(s) - aerosol , radiative transfer , environmental science , albedo (alchemy) , atmospheric sciences , mineral dust , earth's energy budget , satellite , wavelength , optical depth , radiation , remote sensing , meteorology , physics , optics , geology , art , astronomy , performance art , art history
The physical and optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol measured by the Met Office C‐130 during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are presented. Additional radiation measurements enable the determination of the aerosol optical depth, τ aer λ , and the direct radiative effect (DRE) of the mineral dust. The results suggest that the absorption by Saharan dust is significantly overestimated in the solar spectrum if standard refractive indices are used. Our measurements suggest an imaginary part of the refractive index of 0.0015 i is appropriate at a wavelength λ of 0.55 μm. Different methods for determining τ aer λ=0.55 are presented, and the accuracy of each retrieval method is assessed. The value τ aer λ=0.55 is estimated as 1.48 ± 0.05 during the period of heaviest dust loading, which is derived from an instantaneous DRE of approximately −129 ± 5 Wm −2 or an enhancement of the local planetary albedo over ocean of a factor of 2.7 ± 0.1. A comparison of the DRE derived from the C‐130 instrumentation and from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is presented; the results generally showing agreement to within a factor of 1.2. The results suggest that Saharan dust aerosol exerts the largest local and global DRE of all aerosol species and should be considered explicitly in global radiation budget studies.