lmd_Boucher2003_abstracts.html

2003 .

S. Menon, J.-L. Brenguier, O. Boucher, P. Davison, A. D. Del Genio, J. Feichter, S. Ghan, S. Guibert, X. Liu, U. Lohmann, H. Pawlowska, J. E. Penner, J. Quaas, D. L. Roberts, L. Schüller, and J. Snider. Evaluating aerosol/cloud/radiation process parameterizations with single-column models and Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) cloudy column observations. Journal of Geophysical Research (Atmospheres), 108:4762, December 2003. [ bib | DOI | ADS link ]

The Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) data set along with ECMWF reanalysis meteorological fields provided the basis for the single column model (SCM) simulations, performed as part of the PACE (Parameterization of the Aerosol Indirect Climatic Effect) project. Six different SCMs were used to simulate ACE-2 case studies of clean and polluted cloudy boundary layers, with the objective being to identify limitations of the aerosol/cloud/radiation interaction schemes within the range of uncertainty in in situ, reanalysis and satellite retrieved data. The exercise proceeds in three steps. First, SCMs are configured with the same fine vertical resolution as the ACE-2 in situ data base to evaluate the numerical schemes for prediction of aerosol activation, radiative transfer and precipitation formation. Second, the same test is performed at the coarser vertical resolution of GCMs to evaluate its impact on the performance of the parameterizations. Finally, SCMs are run for a 24-48 hr period to examine predictions of boundary layer clouds when initialized with large-scale meteorological fields. Several schemes were tested for the prediction of cloud droplet number concentration (N). Physically based activation schemes using vertical velocity show noticeable discrepancies compared to empirical schemes due to biases in the diagnosed cloud base vertical velocity. Prognostic schemes exhibit a larger variability than the diagnostic ones, due to a coupling between aerosol activation and drizzle scavenging in the calculation of N. When SCMs are initialized at a fine vertical resolution with locally observed vertical profiles of liquid water, predicted optical properties are comparable to observations. Predictions however degrade at coarser vertical resolution and are more sensitive to the mean liquid water path than to its spatial heterogeneity. Predicted precipitation fluxes are severely underestimated and improve when accounting for sub-grid liquid water variability. Results from the 24-48 hr runs suggest that most models have problems in simulating boundary layer cloud morphology, since the large-scale initialization fields do not accurately reproduce observed meteorological conditions. As a result, models significantly overestimate optical properties. Improved cloud morphologies were obtained for models with subgrid inversions and subgrid cloud thickness schemes. This may be a result of representing subgrid scale effects though we do not rule out the possibility that better large-forcing data may also improve cloud morphology predictions.

J. Trentmann, B. Früh, O. Boucher, T. Trautmann, and M. O. Andreae. Three-dimensional solar radiation effects on the actinic flux field in a biomass-burning plume. Journal of Geophysical Research (Atmospheres), 108:4558, September 2003. [ bib | DOI | ADS link ]

Three-dimensional (3-D) solar radiative transfer models describe radiative transfer under inhomogeneous atmospheric conditions more accurately than the commonly used one-dimensional (1-D) radiative transfer models that assume horizontal homogeneity of the atmosphere. Here results of 3-D radiative transfer simulations for a biomass-burning plume are presented and compared with local one-dimensional (l-1-D) simulations, i.e., 1-D simulations in every column of the model domain. The spatial distribution of the aerosol particles was derived from a 3-D atmospheric transport simulation. We studied the impact of 3-D radiative effects on the actinic flux within the plume center. The differences in the actinic flux between results from the 3-D and the l-1-D simulations are considerable, ranging from -40% to more than +200%, depending on the wavelength, solar zenith angle, and the absorbing properties of the aerosol. The reason for this discrepancy is the neglect of horizontal photon transport in the 1-D simulation. These large 3-D effects on the actinic flux have the potential to influence significantly the in-plume photochemistry.

S. Generoso, F.-M. Bréon, Y. Balkanski, O. Boucher, and M. Schulz. Improving the seasonal cycle and interannual variations of biomass burning aerosol sources. Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics, 3:1211-1222, August 2003. [ bib | ADS link ]

This paper suggests a method for improving current inventories of aerosol emissions from biomass burning. The method is based on the hypothesis that, although the total estimates within large regions are correct, the exact spatial and temporal description can be improved. It makes use of open fire detection from the ATSR instrument that is available since 1996. The emissions inventories are re-distributed in space and time according to the occurrence of open fires. Although the method is based on the night-time hot-spot product of the ATSR, other satellite biomass burning proxies (AVHRR, TRMM, GLOBSCAR and GBA2000) show similar distributions.<BR /> <BR /> The impact of the method on the emission inventories is assessed using an aerosol transport model, the results of which are compared to sunphotometer and satellite data. The seasonal cycle of aerosol load in the atmosphere is significantly improved in several regions, in particular South America and Australia. Besides, the use of ATSR fire detection may be used to account for interannual events, as is demonstrated on the large Indonesian fires of 1997, a consequence of the 1997-1998 El Niño. Despite these improvements, there are still some large discrepancies between the simulated and observed aerosol optical thicknesses resulting from biomass burning emissions.

N. Bellouin, O. Boucher, D. Tanré, and O. Dubovik. Aerosol absorption over the clear-sky oceans deduced from POLDER-1 and AERONET observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 30:1748, July 2003. [ bib | DOI | ADS link ]

We estimate aerosol absorption over the clear-sky oceans using aerosol geophysical products from POLDER-1 space measurements and absorption properties from ground-based AERONET measurements. Our best estimate is 2.5 Wm^-2 averaged over the 8-month lifetime of POLDER-1. Low and high absorption estimates are 2.2 and 3.1 Wm^-2 based on the variability in aerosol single-scattering albedo observed by AERONET. Main sources of uncertainties are the discrimation of the aerosol type from satellite measurements, and potential clear-sky bias induced by the cloud-screening procedure.

P. Guyon, B. Graham, J. Beck, O. Boucher, E. Gerasopoulos, O. L. Mayol-Bracero, G. C. Roberts, P. Artaxo, and M. O. Andreae. Physical properties and concentration of aerosol particles over the Amazon tropical forest during background and biomass burning conditions. Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics, 3:951-967, July 2003. [ bib | ADS link ]

We investigated the size distribution, scattering and absorption properties of Amazonian aerosols and the optical thickness of the aerosol layer under the pristine background conditions typical of the wet season, as well as during the biomass-burning-influenced dry season. The measurements were made during two campaigns in 1999 as part of the European contribution to the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA-EUSTACH). In moving from the wet to the dry season, median particle numbers were observed to increase from values comparable to those of the remote marine boundary layer (˜400 cm^-3) to values more commonly associated with urban smog (˜4000 cm^-3), due to a massive injection of submicron smoke particles. Aerosol optical depths at 500 nm increased from 0.05 to 0.8 on average, reaching a value of 2 during the dry season. Scattering and absorption coefficients, measured at 550 nm, showed a concomitant increase from average values of 6.8 and 0.4 Mm^-1 to values of 91 and 10 Mm^-1, respectively, corresponding to an estimated decrease in single-scattering albedo from ca. 0.97 to 0.91. The roughly tenfold increase in many of the measured parameters attests to the dramatic effect that extensive seasonal biomass burning (deforestation, pasture cleaning) is having on the composition and properties of aerosols over Amazonia. The potential exists for these changes to impact on regional and global climate through changes to the extinction of solar radiation as well as the alteration of cloud properties.

O. Boucher, C. Moulin, S. Belviso, O. Aumont, L. Bopp, E. Cosme, R. von Kuhlmann, M. G. Lawrence, M. Pham, M. S. Reddy, J. Sciare, and C. Venkataraman. DMS atmospheric concentrations and sulphate aerosol indirect radiative forcing: a sensitivity study to the DMS source representation and oxidation. Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics, 3:49-65, January 2003. [ bib | ADS link ]

The global sulphur cycle has been simulated using a general circulation model with a focus on the source and oxidation of atmospheric dimethylsulphide (DMS). The sensitivity of atmospheric DMS to the oceanic DMS climatology, the parameterisation of the sea-air transfer and to the oxidant fields have been studied. The importance of additional oxidation pathways (by O₃ in the gas- and aqueous-phases and by BrO in the gas phase) not incorporated in global models has also been evaluated. While three different climatologies of the oceanic DMS concentration produce rather similar global DMS fluxes to the atmosphere at 24-27 Tg S yr ^-1, there are large differences in the spatial and seasonal distribution. The relative contributions of OH and NO₃ radicals to DMS oxidation depends critically on which oxidant fields are prescribed in the model. Oxidation by O₃ appears to be significant at high latitudes in both hemispheres. Oxidation by BrO could be significant even for BrO concentrations at sub-pptv levels in the marine boundary layer. The impact of such refinements on the DMS chemistry onto the indirect radiative forcing by anthropogenic sulphate aerosols is also discussed.