Aerosol properties above clouds have been retrieved over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season 2006 using satellite observations from POLDER (Polarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectances). From June to October, POLDER has observed a mean Above-Cloud Aerosol Optical Thickness (ACAOT) of 0.28 and a mean Above-Clouds Single Scattering Albedo (ACSSA) of 0.87 at 550 nm. These...

We introduce the improved Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) high-resolution radiation scheme FUBRad and compare it to the 4-band standard ECHAM5 SW radiation scheme of Fouquart and Bonnel (FB). Both schemes are validated against the detailed radiative transfer model libRadtran. FUBRad produces realistic heating rate variations during the solar cycle. The SW heating rate response with the FB scheme...

In this study we investigate the impact of midand late Holocene orbital forcing and solar activity on variations of the oxygen isotopic composition in precipitation. The investigation is motivated by a recently published speleothem δ18O record from the well-monitored Bunker Cave in Germany. The record reveals some high variability on multicentennial to millennial scales that does not linearly c...

The emission of nitric oxide (NO) by soils (SNOx) is an important source of oxides of nitrogen (NO x =NO+NO 2) in the troposphere, with estimates ranging from 4 to 21 Tg of nitrogen per year. Previous studies have examined the influence of SNOx on ozone (O 3) chemistry. We employ the ECHAM5/MESSy earth system model to go further in 5 the reaction chain and investigate the influence of SNOx on l...

Analyses of a 500-yr control integration with the non-flux-adjusted coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model ECHAM5/Max-Planck-Institute Ocean Model (MPI-OM) show pronounced multidecadal fluctuations of the Atlantic overturning circulation and the associated meridional heat transport. The period of the oscillations is about 70–80 yr. The low-frequency variability of the meridional overturning cir...

Changing natural conditions determine the land's suitability for agriculture. The growing demand for food, feed, fiber and bioenergy increases pressure on land and causes trade-offs between different uses of land and ecosystem services. Accordingly, an inventory is required on the changing potentially suitable areas for agriculture under changing climate conditions. We applied a fuzzy logic app...

We assess the effect of enhanced basal sliding on the flow and mass budget of the Greenland ice sheet, using a newly developed parameterization of the relation between meltwater runoff and ice flow. A wide range of observations suggest that water generated by melt at the surface of the ice sheet reaches its bed by both fracture and drainage through moulins. Once at the bed, this water is likely...

1 Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland 2 Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland 3 Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, D-20146, Hamburg, Germany 4 Finnish Meteorological Institute, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland 5 Finnish Meteorological Institute, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland 6 Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zur...