Aerosol‐cloud interactions (ACI) represent a significant source of forcing uncertainty in global climate models (GCMs). Estimates of radiative forcing due to ACI in Fifth Assessment Report range from −0.5 to −2.5 W m−2. A portion of this uncertainty is related to the first indirect, or Twomey, effect whereby aerosols act as nuclei for cloud droplets to condense upon. At constant liquid water content this increases the number of cloud droplets (Nd) and thus increases the cloud albedo. In this study we use remote‐sensing estimates of Nd within stratocumulus regions in combination with state‐of‐the‐art aerosol reanalysis from Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA2) to diagnose how aerosols affect Nd. As in previous studies, Nd is related to sulfate mass through a power law relationship. The slope of the log‐log relationship between Nd and SO4 in maritime stratocumulus is found to be 0.31, which is similar to the range of 0.2–0.8 from previous in situ studies and remote‐sensing studies in the pristine Southern Ocean. Using preindustrial emissions models, the change in Nd between preindustrial and present day is estimated. Nd is inferred to have more than tripled in some regions. Cloud properties from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are used to estimate the radiative forcing due to this change in Nd. The Twomey effect operating in isolation is estimated to create a radiative forcing of −0.97 ± 0.23 W m−2 relative to the preindustrial era.

The change in planetary albedo due to aerosol−cloud interactions during the industrial era is the leading source of uncertainty in inferring Earth’s climate sensitivity to increased greenhouse gases from the historical record. The variable that controls aerosol−cloud interactions in warm clouds is droplet number concentration. Global climate models demonstrate that the present-day hemispheric contrast in cloud droplet number concentration between the pristine Southern Hemisphere and the polluted Northern Hemisphere oceans can be used as a proxy for anthropogenically driven change in cloud droplet number concentration. Remotely sensed estimates constrain this change in droplet number concentration to be between 8 cm−3 and 24 cm−3. By extension, the radiative forcing since 1850 from aerosol−cloud interactions is constrained to be −1.2 W⋅m−2 to −0.6 W⋅m−2. The robustness of this constraint depends upon the assumption that pristine Southern Ocean droplet number concentration is a suitable proxy for preindustrial concentrations. Droplet number concentrations calculated from satellite data over the Southern Ocean are high in austral summer. Near Antarctica, they reach values typical of Northern Hemisphere polluted outflows. These concentrations are found to agree with several in situ datasets. In contrast, climate models show systematic underpredictions of cloud droplet number concentration across the Southern Ocean. Near Antarctica, where precipitation sinks of aerosol are small, the underestimation by climate models is particularly large. This motivates the need for detailed process studies of aerosol production and aerosol−cloud interactions in pristine environments. The hemispheric difference in satellite estimated cloud droplet number concentration implies preindustrial aerosol concentrations were higher than estimated by most models.

Climate model simulations suggest that the extratropical storm tracks will shift poleward as a consequence of global warming. In this study the northern and southern hemisphere storm tracks over the Pacific and Atlantic ocean basins are studied using observational data, primarily from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, ISCCP. Potential shifts in the storm tracks are examined using the observed cloud structures as proxies for cyclone activity. Different data analysis methods are employed, with the objective to address difficulties and uncertainties in using ISCCP data for regional trend analysis. In particular, three data filtering techniques are explored; excluding specific problematic regions from the analysis, regressing out a spurious viewing geometry effect, and excluding specific cloud types from the analysis. These adjustments all, to varying degree, moderate the cloud trends in the original data but leave the qualitative aspects of those trends largely unaffected. Therefore, our analysis suggests that ISCCP data can be used to interpret regional trends in cloudiness, provided that data and instrumental artefacts are recognized and accounted for. The variation in magnitude between trends emerging from application of different data correction methods, allows us to estimate possible ranges for the observational changes. It is found that the storm tracks, here represented by the extent of the midlatitude-centered band of maximum cloud cover over the studied ocean basins, experience a poleward shift as well as a narrowing over the 25 year period covered by ISCCP. The observed magnitudes of these effects are larger than in current generation climate models (CMIP3). The magnitude of the shift is particularly large in the northern hemisphere Atlantic. This is also the one of the four regions in which imperfect data primarily prevents us from drawing firm conclusions. The shifted path and reduced extent of the storm track cloudiness is accompanied by a regional reduction in total cloud cover. This decrease in cloudiness can primarily be ascribed to low level clouds, whereas the upper level cloud fraction actually increases, according to ISCCP. Independent satellite observations of radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere are consistent with the changes in total cloud cover. The shift in cloudiness is also supported by a shift in central position of the mid-troposphere meridional temperature gradient. We do not find support for aerosols playing a significant role in the satellite observed changes in cloudiness. The observed changes in storm track cloudiness can be related to local cloud-induced changes in radiative forcing, using ERBE and CERES radiative fluxes. The shortwave and the longwave components are found to act together, leading to a positive (warming) net radiative effect in response to the cloud changes in the storm track regions, indicative of positive cloud feedback. Among the CMIP3 models that simulate poleward shifts in all four storm track areas, all but one show decreasing c...

The introduction of cloud condensation nuclei and radiative heating by sunlight-absorbing aerosols can modify the thickness and coverage of low clouds, yielding significant radiative forcing of climate. The magnitude and sign of changes in cloud coverage and depth in response to changing aerosols are impacted by turbulent dynamics of the cloudy atmosphere, but integrated measurements of aerosol solar absorption and turbulent fluxes have not been reported thus far. Here we report such integrated measurements made from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the CARDEX (Cloud Aerosol Radiative Forcing and Dynamics Experiment) investigation conducted over the northern Indian Ocean. The UAV and surface data reveal a reduction in turbulent kinetic energy in the surface mixed layer at the base of the atmosphere concurrent with an increase in absorbing black carbon aerosols. Polluted conditions coincide with a warmer and shallower surface mixed layer because of aerosol radiative heating and reduced turbulence. The polluted surface mixed layer was also observed to be more humid with higher relative humidity. Greater humidity enhances cloud development, as evidenced by polluted clouds that penetrate higher above the top of the surface mixed layer. Reduced entrainment of dry air into the surface layer from above the inversion capping the surface mixed layer, due to weaker turbulence, may contribute to higher relative humidity in the surface layer during polluted conditions. Measurements of turbulence are important for studies of aerosol effects on clouds. Moreover, reduced turbulence can exacerbate both the human health impacts of high concentrations of fine particles and conditions favorable for low-visibility fog events.

Abstract. Cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) is the key state variable that moderates the relationship between aerosol and the radiative forcing arising from aerosolcloud interactions. Uncertainty related to the effect of anthropogenic aerosol on cloud properties represents the largest uncertainty in total anthropogenic radiative forcing. Here we show that regionally averaged time series of the ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observed CDNC of low, liquid-topped clouds is well predicted by the MERRA2 reanalysis near-surface sulfate mass concentration over decadal timescales. A multiple linear regression between MERRA2 reanalyses masses of sulfate (SO 4 ), black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), sea salt (SS), and dust (DU) shows that CDNC across many different regimes can be reproduced by a simple power-law fit to near-surface SO 4 , with smaller contributions from BC, OC, SS, and DU. This confirms previous work using a less sophisticated retrieval of CDNC on monthly timescales. The analysis is supported by an examination of remotely sensed sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) over maritime volcanoes and the east coasts of North America and Asia, revealing that maritime CDNC responds to changes in SO 2 as observed by the ozone monitoring instrument (OMI). This investigation of aerosol reanalysis and top-down remote-sensing observations reveals that emission controls in Asia and North America have decreased CDNC in their maritime outflow on a decadal timescale.

A B S T R A C T It has been long understood that the partly cloudy atmosphere manifests a continuum of states between the end members 'clear' and 'cloud.' Nevertheless, many research methods are premised on a dichotomy of states-for example, those that use 'cloud cover' or 'cloud-clearing.' Here we consider the consequences of this practice for studies of aerosolclimate effects. Aerosols affect the Earth's energy budget primarily by affecting albedo; therefore, we explore the nature of albedo variability in the partly cloudy marine boundary layer on scales down to a few tens of metres. We employ two diagnostic tools: a cloud resolving model and an albedo proxy derived from high altitude lidars. We show that a continuum of albedo values results from indeterminate and variable combinations of hydrated aerosol and wispy (including subvisible) clouds. Two consequences arise. First, cloud-clearing schemes employed by different observational methods are mutually inconsistent and are sensitive to concentrations of unactivated aerosol particles. Second, aerosol radiative forcing (the sensitivity of overall albedo to changes in aerosol concentration) is inaccurately calculated as the average of clear and overcast conditions. Together, these results imply that dividing the aerosol forcing problem into 'direct' and 'indirect' components may lead to substantial errors.

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Planetary albedo-the reflectivity for solar radiation-is of singular importance in determining the amount of solar energy taken in by the Earth-atmosphere system. Modeling albedo, and specifically cloud albedo, correctly is crucial for realistic climate simulations. A method is presented herein by which regional cloud albedo can be quantified from the relation between total albedo and cloud fraction, which in observations is found to be approximately linear on a monthly mean scale. This analysis is based primarily on the combination of cloud fraction data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and albedo data from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), but the results presented are also supported by the combination of cloud fraction and proxy albedo data from satelliteborne lidar [Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO)]. These data are measured and derived completely independently from the CERES-MODIS data. Applied to low-level marine stratiform clouds in three regions (off the coasts of South America, Africa, and North America), the analysis reveals regionally uniform monthly mean cloud albedos, indicating that the variation in cloud shortwave radiative properties is small on this scale. A coherent picture of low ''effective'' cloud albedo emerges, in the range from 0.35 to 0.42, on the basis of data from CERES and MODIS. In its simplicity, the method presented appears to be useful as a diagnostic tool and as a constraint on climate models. To demonstrate this, the same method is applied to cloud fraction and albedo output from several current-generation climate models [from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 3 (CMIP3), archive]. Although the multimodel mean cloud albedo estimates agree to within 20% with the satellite-based estimates for the three focus regions, model-based estimates of cloud albedo are found to display much larger variability than do the observations, within individual models as well as between models.