Global WRF (GWRF) is an extension of the mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model that was developed for global weather research and forecasting applications. GWRF is being expanded to simulate atmospheric chemistry and its interactions with meteorology on a global scale. In this work, the ability of GWRF to reproduce major boundary layer meteorological variables that affect the f...

We use high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys to document the evolution of four ice cliffs on the debris-covered tongue of Lirung Glacier, Nepal, over one ablation season. Observations show that out of four cliffs, three different patterns of evolution emerge: (i) reclining cliffs that flatten during the ablation season; (ii) stable cliffs tha...

The interaction of shortwave and infrared radiation in the atmosphere with clouds and greenhouse gases represents a complex process that contributes significantly to maintaining earth's climate system. For climate model simulations to become more accurate, it is essential that this process be modeled properly as verified by direct comparisons with observations and with results from a validated ...

Longwave radiation is often the dominant source of energy for snowmelt in forests. Measurements at forest sites varying density Sweden and Finland show that downwelling longwave enhanced under canopies, even sparse canopies particularly clear skies. Canopy must be estimated accurately to predict this enhancement. Linear regression with above-canopy air temperature as predictors sub-canopy gives...

[1] Using eighteen months (June–August, 2000–2005) of spatially and temporally collocated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data from the Terra satellite over the Atlantic Ocean [10W–60W, 0–30N], we first separate the dust aerosol optical thickness at 0.55 mm (AOT) from the total column MODIS AOT. We then calculate...

The aim of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of radiative-forcing computations to various contrail crystal shape models. Contrail optical properties in the shortwave and longwave ranges are derived using a ray-tracing geometric method and the discrete dipole approximation method, respectively. Both methods present good correspondence of the single-scattering albedo and the asymmetry ...

This study introduces new CERES Angular Distribution Models (ADMs) for estimating shortwave, longwave and window top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes from broadband radiance measurements. By combining CERES measurements with narrowband, high-resolution imager measurements, up to a factor 4 improvement in TOA flux accuracy is achieved compared to TOA flux estimates from previous experiments, such ...

Large-scale deforestation may affect the surface energy budget and consequently climate by changing the physical properties of the land surface, namely biophysical effects. This study presents the potential energy budget change caused by deforestation in Northeastern China and its climate implications, which was evaluated by quantifying the differences in MODIS-observed surface physical propert...

Lack of calibrated radiation measurements at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) between major spaceborne radiation missions entails inference of the TOA radiation budget from operational weather sensors. The inferred data are subject to uncertainties due to calibration, narrowto broadband conversion, etc. In this study, a surrogate TOA earth radiation budget product generated from GOES-7 (Geostati...

It has been widely accepted that diurnal temperature range (DTR) decreased on a global scale during the second half of the twentieth century. Here we show however, that the long-term trend of annual DTR has reversed from a decrease to an increase during the 1970s in Western Eu-rope and during the 1980s in Eastern Europe. The analysis is based on the high-quality dataset of the European Climate ...