Water vapor radiative effects on short-wave radiation in Spain

Vaquero-Martínez, Javier; Antón, Manuel; Galisteo, José Pablo Ortiz de; Román, Roberto; Cachorro, Victoria E.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.02.001

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Some of them have focused on oceanic environments, benefiting from a high space-time resolution and homogeneous aerosol background, and others over landmasses (e.g., [24,25]). Regarding the effect of water vapour upon the downwelling SW radiation, studies are scarcer, although its interest is recently increasing (e.g., [26][27][28][29]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Combined Effect of Aerosol and Water Vapour on Solar Radiation

et al. 2021

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This study aims to calculate the combined and individual effects of the optical thickness of aerosols (AOT) and precipitable water vapour (PWV) on the solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface at a global scale and to analyse its spatial and temporal variation. For that purpose, a novel but validated methodology is applied to CERES SYN1deg products for the period 2000–2019. Spatial distributions of AOT and PWV effects, both individually and combined, show a close link with the spatial distributions of AOT and PWV. The spatially averaged combined effect results in a −13.9% reduction in irradiance, while the average AOT effect is −2.3%, and the PWV effect is −12.1%. The temporal analysis focuses on detecting trends in the anomalies. The results show overall positive trends for AOT and PWV. Consequently, significant negative overall trends are found for the effects. However, significant positive trends for the individual AOT and the combined AOT-PWV effects are found in specific regions, such as the eastern United States, Europe or Asia, indicating successful emission control policies in these areas. This study contributes to a better understanding of the individual and combined effects of aerosols and water vapour on solar radiation at a global scale.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Combined Effect of Aerosol and Water Vapour on Solar Radiation

et al. 2021

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“…Due to great interest on the Mediterranean basin, several studies have analysed aerosols, water vapour and their effects on solar radiation in this area [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, most of these studies are local (measurements taken at specific locations) or use a short period of study (specific campaigns), preventing a complete analysis of the spatial and temporal variability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main limitation of the existing studies comes from the fact that they examine the effect of aerosols (e.g., [9][10][11][12][13][14]17]) or water vapour (e.g., [15,18,22]) individually. Thus, to our knowledge, only the study by Obregón et al [23] has analysed the joint effect of both atmospheric constituents and focuses on nine specific stations representative of different regions of the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Aerosol and Water Vapour Effects on Solar Radiation in the Mediterranean Basin during the Last Two Decades

et al. 2020

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This study aims to calculate and analyse the spatial and temporal variation of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and precipitable water vapour (PWV) and their effects on solar radiation at the surface in the Mediterranean basin, one of the maritime areas with the largest aerosol loads in the world. For the achievement of this objective, a novel and validated methodology was applied. Satellite data, specifically CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) SYN1deg products during the period 2000–2018, were used. Results show that the spatial distribution of AOT and PWV are closely linked to the spatial distributions of its effects on solar radiation. These effects are negative, indicating a reduction of solar radiation reaching the surface due to aerosol and water vapour effects. This reduction ranges between 2% and 8% for AOT, 11.5% and 15% for PWV and 14% and 20% for the combined effect. The analysis of the temporal distribution has focused on the detection of trends from their anomalies. This study has contributed to a better understanding of AOT and PWV effects on solar radiation over the Mediterranean basin, one of the most climatically sensitive regions of the planet, and highlighted the importance of water vapour.

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“…However, there is a great uncertainty about the quantification of the radiative effects of water vapor. Although some efforts have been made to study it in the short-wave (SW) region (i.e., [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]), the references in the literature related to the LW effects of water vapor are scarce (i.e., [17][18][19][20][21]). These works mainly focus in the feedback and sensitivity of climate system with respect to water vapor and the downwelling long-wave (LW) radiation, but not considering the radiative balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Water Vapor Radiative Effects Using GPS Data Series over Southwestern Europe

et al. 2020

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Water vapor radiative effects (WVRE) at surface in the long-wave (LW) and short-wave (SW) spectral ranges under cloud and aerosol free conditions are analyzed for seven stations in Spain over the 2007–2015 period. WVRE is calculated as the difference between the net flux obtained by two radiative transfer simulations; one with water vapor from Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements and the other one without any water vapor (dry atmosphere). The WVRE in the LW ranges from 107.9 Wm 2 to 296.7 Wm − 2 , while in the SW it goes from − 64.9 Wm − 2 to − 6.0 Wm − 2 . The results show a clear seasonal cycle, which allows the classification of stations in three sub-regions. In general, for total (SW + LW) and LW WVRE, winter (DJF) and spring (MAM) values are lower than summer (JJA) and autumn (SON). However, in the case of SW WVRE, the weaker values are in winter and autumn, and the stronger ones in summer and spring. Positive trends for LW (and total) WVRE may partially explain the well-known increase of surface air temperatures in the study region. Additionally, negative trends for SW WVRE are especially remarkable, since they represent about a quarter of the contribution of aerosols to the strong brightening effect (increase of the SW radiation flux at surface associated with a reduction of the cloud cover and aerosol load) observed since the 2000s in the Iberian Peninsula, but with opposite sign, so it is suggested that water vapor could be partially masking the full magnitude of this brightening.

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Water vapor radiative effects on short-wave radiation in Spain

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Global Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Combined Effect of Aerosol and Water Vapour on Solar Radiation

Global Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Combined Effect of Aerosol and Water Vapour on Solar Radiation

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Aerosol and Water Vapour Effects on Solar Radiation in the Mediterranean Basin during the Last Two Decades

Evaluation of Water Vapor Radiative Effects Using GPS Data Series over Southwestern Europe

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