Simultaneous observations of aerosol-cloud-albedo interactions with three stacked unmanned aerial vehicles.

ABSTRACT: Aerosol impacts on climate change are still poorly understood, in part, because the few observations and methods for detecting their effects are not well established. For the first time, the enhancement in cloud albedo is directly measured on a cloud-by-cloud basis and linked to increasing aerosol concentrations by using multiple autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles to simultaneously observe the cloud microphysics, vertical aerosol distribution, and associated solar radiative fluxes. In the presence of long-range transport of dust and anthropogenic pollution, the trade cumuli have higher droplet concentrations and are on average brighter. Our observations suggest a higher sensitivity of radiative forcing by trade cumuli to increases in cloud droplet concentrations than previously reported o

SUBMITTER: Roberts GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2396670 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature