Measurements are presented of the wavelength dependence of the aerosol absorption coefficient taken during the Tropical Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) over the northern Atlantic. The data show an approximate Ϫ1 variation between 0.40 and 1.0 m. The theoretical basis of the wavelength variation of the absorption of solar radiation by elemental carbon [or black carbon (BC)] is explored. For a wavelength independent refractive index the small particle absorption limit simplifies to a Ϫ1 variation in relatively good agreement with the data. This result implies that the refractive indices of BC were relatively constant in this wavelength region, in agreement with much of the data on refractive indices of BC. However, the result does not indicate the magnitude of the refractive indices. The implications of the wavelength dependence of BC absorption for the spectral behavior of the aerosol single scattering albedo are discussed. It is shown that the single scattering albedo for a mixture of BC and nonabsorbing material decreases with wavelength in the solar spectrum (i.e., the percentage amount of absorption increases). This decease in the single scattering albedo with wavelength for black carbon mixtures is different from the increase in single scattering albedo for most mineral aerosols (dusts). This indicates that, if generally true, the spectral variation of the single scattering albedo can be used to distinguish aerosol types. It also highlights the importance of measurements of the spectral variation of the aerosol absorption coefficient and single scattering albedo.

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SUMMARYCalculated irradiances from a new radiation code are compared with in situ observations of short-wave irradiances from the UK Meteorological Office's C-130 aircraft. Three cases of clear skies are studied and four where a liquid-water boundary-layer cloud was present. Under clear-sky conditions the modelled and in situ observations agree to within 3%, which is the estimated accuracy of the observations. In the cloudy-sky cases the albedo and transmittance agree to within fO.l but the absorption in the model is higher than that observed, sometimes by a factor of two; there is no evidence of anomalous absorption in the observations. The observed absorptions do not exceed 6% for the stratocumulus cases considered. The results clearly identify the problems of representing inhomogeneous clouds as plane parallel layers in radiation models. Analysis of the variability of the cloud microphysics provides some insight into the importance of regions of low optical depth within the clouds.

We present details of a scheme for retrieving cirrus cloud optical thickness and effective particle size from nadir‐viewing reflectance measurements. Two near‐infrared wavelengths are used, one with negligible ice absorption (1.04 μm) and one with significant ice absorption (1.55 μm). Four ice crystal shapes are used in the scheme: ice spheres, hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates and randomized polycrystals. We highlight the sensitivity of the retrievals to the shape of the phase function, which follows from the particular ice crystal shape assumed. Five aircraft‐based retrievals are presented, all cases occurring during the 1993 intensive field campaign of the European Cloud Radiation Experiment (EUCREX'93). The retrieved effective sizes are compared with the in situ measurements taken from the same cases. In these comparisons, account has to be taken of the fact that (a) in situ replicator data indicate that the presence of small (<100 μm) ice crystals can have a significant effect on the effective crystal size, and (b) the measured crystal sizes consistently show a systematic decrease with height in all cases, the effective sizes at cloud base being typically two or three times larger than at cloud top. Taking these considerations into account, we conclude that the assumption of polycrystals gives the most consistent agreement with the in situ measurements.

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Experiments are described in which a radial temperature gradient is maintained along the lower horizontal boundary of a rotating annulus containing a thermally convecting fluid; the vertical side walls and upper horizontal boundary are nominally insulating. Comparison is made with the non-rotating experiments of Rossby (1965) and the same general asymmetric circulation is observed, i.e. that of a weakly stratified interior of slowly descending fluid occupying most of the annular gap, overlying a thin thermal layer of large vertical temperature gradients, stable over the cold part of the base and statically unstable over the warmer part; the circulation is completed by a narrow region of rising motion at the warm end of the base.A boundary-layer scaling analysis demonstrates the existence of six flow regimes, depending on the magnitude of a quantity Q defined such that Q is the square of the ratio of the (non-rotating) thermal-layer scale to the Ekman-layer scale. For small Q the flow is only weakly modified by rotation but as Q increases past unity rotation tends to thicken the thermal layer. Also presented are some numerical similarity solutions for the special case of a quadratic temperature distribution on the lower boundary and partially covering the range of Q achieved in the experiments, which is zero to ten. Above a certain critical value of Q (for the geometry used here Qc = 3·4) a baroclinic wave regime exists but is not examined in detail here although a brief discussion of an instability problem is given. Throughout comparisons are drawn between the experimental results and theoretical aspects of the problem.It is thought that the essential features of a system thermally driven in this way have their counterparts in natural systems such as the large-scale thermally induced ocean circulation driven by the latitudinal variation of incoming solar radiation.

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Quantitative and qualitative comparisons are made between laboratory measurements of rotating annulus flows and corresponding numerical model simulations. Two laboratory annuli, of similar dimensions but differing in instrumentation, are used. One contains a thermocouple array for temperature measurement: the other contains no sensor array but the working fluid is seeded with minute neutrally buoyant beads (600 m̈m diameter) which enable the horizontal velocity field to be measured. Each annulus has a rigid insulating lid in contact with the working fluid. the numerical model is a finite difference formulation based on the Navier‐Stokes equations for baroclinic flow of a Boussinesq liquid. Although the atmosphere and the laboratory annulus are both rotating baroclinic fluid systems, the forcing processes acting in the annulus are much simpler than those acting in the atmosphere, and may be accurately represented by established formulae: under a wide range of conditions no parametrizations of subgrid‐scale dynamical and diabatic processes are required. Comparison of numerical model results with laboratory measurements therefore enables the explicit dynamical formulation of numerical models of rotating, baroclinic flow to be verified to an extent which would be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve using atmospheric data. Detailed quantitative comparisons for a steady wave flow reveal good agreement for major features of the temperature and horizontal flow fields, although a significant discrepancy in total heat flux is found. Qualitative comparisons are made by investigating the ability of the numerical model to reproduce the main flow types and phenomena of the laboratory system. Numerical simulations of intransitivity, hysteresis, wavenumber transitions, amplitude vacillation and a weak structural vacillation are described. Several suggestions for further comparative studies are made in conclusion.