COMPARISON BETWEEN OBSERVED AND MODELLED WATER CLOUD RADIATIVE PROPERTIES

摘要

Measurements of radiative and physical characteristics of stratocumulus clouds in a coastal region in South Australia were carried out during the Kangaroo Island Radiation and Cloud Experiments (KIRCE). Cloud albedo and absorption were determined using the solar irradiances observed at the cloud top and base. The results are then fitted in terms of cloud liquid water path (LWP). The relative error for the fitted albedo and absorption is on average 15%. We then calculate these variables using a radiation scheme in conjunction with five cloud optical properties schemes. The aim of this work is to test the accuracy of these cloud optical properties schemes. It is found that the differences in the cloud optical properties determined using these schemes is very large, leading to a large difference in cloud albedo and absorption. Relatively good agreement between the modeled and observed results is obtained for some schemes.