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Satellite retrievals of (quasi‐)spherical particles at cold temperatures
Author(s) -
Choi YongSang,
Ho ChangHoi,
Kim Jinwon,
Lindzen Richard S.
Publication year - 2010
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 - 10.1029/2009gl041818
Subject(s) - stratosphere , troposphere , environmental science , satellite , radiative forcing , atmospheric sciences , range (aeronautics) , radiative transfer , forcing (mathematics) , particle (ecology) , meteorology , physics , aerosol , geology , materials science , astronomy , quantum mechanics , oceanography , composite material
Measurements from NASA's A‐train satellites indicate that spherical or quasi‐spherical particles may constitute up to 30% of the total cloud particles at temperatures below −30°C, and up to 10% even for temperatures below −40°C, the temperature range typically found in the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere. Current climate models calculate cloud radiative forcing on the basis on an assumption that essentially no spherical or quasi‐spherical particles exist below −40°C (even below −15°C). The findings in this study show that this widely used assumption in climate models may need re‐examination. Further research is also needed to confirm and quantify these findings, especially improvements in the satellite retrievals of cloud particle shapes that, in the mean, currently contain about 10% uncertainties.