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Evaluation of Aerosol-cloud Interaction in the GISS Model E Using ARM ObservationsObservations from the US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program are used to evaluate the ability of the NASA GISS ModelE global climate model in reproducing observed interactions between aerosols and clouds. Included in the evaluation are comparisons of basic meteorology and aerosol properties, droplet activation, effective radius parameterizations, and surface-based evaluations of aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI). Differences between the simulated and observed ACI are generally large, but these differences may result partially from vertical distribution of aerosol in the model, rather than the representation of physical processes governing the interactions between aerosols and clouds. Compared to the current observations, the ModelE often features elevated droplet concentrations for a given aerosol concentration, indicating that the activation parameterizations used may be too aggressive. Additionally, parameterizations for effective radius commonly used in models were tested using ARM observations, and there was no clear superior parameterization for the cases reviewed here. This lack of consensus is demonstrated to result in potentially large, statistically significant differences to surface radiative budgets, should one parameterization be chosen over another.
Document ID
20140009181
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1002/jgrd.50460
Authors
DeBoer, G. (Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Bauer, S. E. (Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Toto, T. (Brookhaven National Lab. Upton, NY, United States)
Menon, Surabi (California Univ., Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Vogelmann, A. M. (Brookhaven National Lab. Upton, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
July 15, 2014
Publication Date
June 17, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume: 118
Issue: 12
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN13907
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AU63A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Clouds
Aerosols
Climate model

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