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Journal Article

Aircraft measurements of cloud droplet spectral dispersion and implications for indirect aerosol radiative forcing

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Brasseur,  Guy P.       
The Atmosphere in the Earth System, MPI for Meteorology, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Zhao, C., Tie, X., Brasseur, G. P., Noone, K. J., Nakajima, T., Zhang, Q., et al. (2006). Aircraft measurements of cloud droplet spectral dispersion and implications for indirect aerosol radiative forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 33: L16809. doi:10.1029/2006GL026653.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0029-022D-9
Abstract
Using a large amount of aircraft measurements of cloud droplet size
distributions, the relationship between cloud spectral relative
dispersion (epsilon) and cloud droplet number concentration (N(c)) is
studied. The results indicate that the value of e varies between 0.2 to
0.8 when the cloud droplet number concentration is low ( about 50
cm(-3)), and converges toward a narrow range of 0.4 to 0.5 when the
cloud number concentration is higher. Because the distribution of the
cloud droplet size is an important parameter in estimating the first
indirect radiative effect of aerosols on the climate system, the
uncertainty in the corresponding radiative forcing can be reduced by 10
- 40% ( depending on cloud droplet number density) under high aerosol
loading.. This finding is important for improving climate change
projections, especially for the regions where aerosol loading is high
and continues to increase.