A document by Akos Horvath. Click on the document to view its contents.

Mid-tropospheric elevated moist layers (EMLs) near the melting level have been found in various regional observational studies in the tropics. Recently, a preponderance of EMLs in the presence of aggregated convection was found in cloud resolving simulations of radiative convective equilibrium (RCE), highlighting a significant circulation coupling. Here, we present global monthly EML occurrence rates based on reanalysis, yielding a broader view on where and when EMLs occur in the real world. Over the Atlantic, EML occurrence follows an annual cycle that maximizes in summer, aligning with maximized ITCZ intensity and organisation. Resembling the results in RCE, the large-scale circulation over the Atlantic shifts from a deep overturning in January to a bottom-heavy circulation in July. While EMLs embedded in the July cross-equatorial Hadley cell are found to be sourced from the ITCZ, EMLs north of the ITCZ emerge from the strongly sheared zonal flow over West Africa.

The longwave feedback λ characterizes how Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation changes with surface temperature Ts, making it an important quantity to estimate Earth’s climate sensitivity. Compared to the traditionally studied λ, its spectrally resolved counterpart λν offers deeper insights into the underlying physical processes. Both λ and λν are known to vary with Ts, but this Ts dependence has so far only been investigated using models. Here, we derive the clear-sky spectral longwave feedback λν for surface temperatures Ts between 210K and 310K based on observations of the AIRS instrument onboard the Aqua satellite. We disentangle the radiative signatures of the atmospheric general circulation by simulating λν based on a single-column model with different degrees of idealization. We find that at low Ts, the observed λν is dominated by the surface response and sensitive to biases in Earth’s skin temperature. At higher Ts, changes in atmospheric temperature and humidity, as well as their vertical distribution, play an important role in shaping λν . These changes impact both the absorption of surface emission in the atmospheric window and the atmospheric emission in the water vapor and CO2 absorption bands. Our results demonstrate that we can fully understand the observed λν at a wide range of Ts using a simple conceptual model of Earth’s atmosphere. This understanding can be used to better constrain changes in R and T with warming in Earth’s climate using satellite observations, as well as for paleoclimate and exoplanet studies.

A document by Florian Elias Roemer. Click on the document to view its contents.

We investigated various aspects of the in-orbit performance of SEVIRI on Meteosat-10 (launch: 05 Jul 2012) and -11 (launch: 15 Jul 2015) with images, where Mercury or Venus appeared in a corner. These objects are of similar or smaller size than the instantaneous field of view, and therefore they are well suited for checks of geometric requirements. From comparing the position of Venus in different channels we conclude that the North-South distance between the two focal planes is shorter than the nominal value by 0.66 km at SSP (Sub-Satellite Point) with Meteosat-10 and longer by 1.44 km at SSP with Meteosat-11. The tilt of the detector array against the equator is less than 0.0037° for SEVIRI on Metosat-10. The sampling with narrow channels is 3.0016 km, with a one-sigma uncertainty of 30 cm at sub-satellite point. The tests we carried out to check the geometric performance of the instrument confirmed that SEVIRI is compliant with the requirements. The Point Spread Function as determined from the image of a planet agrees well with the expectations based on its combination with the finite impulse response. Finally we determined the stability of the calibration coefficients from the counts obtained on the planetary targets and found the reproducibility of the measurements of planetary fluxes similar to those of vicarious calibration targets. Hence planets are a promising alternative to established methods of in-flight characterisation and validation of imagers.

Reducing the model spread in free-tropospheric relative humidity (RH) and its response to warming is a crucial step towards reducing the uncertainty in clear-sky climate sensitivity, a step that is hoped to be taken with recently developed global storm-resolving models (GSRMs). In this study we quantify the inter-model differences in tropical present-day RH across GSRMs, making use of DYAMOND, a first 40-day intercomparison. We find that the inter-model spread in tropical mean free-tropospheric RH is reduced compared to conventional atmospheric models, except from the the tropopause region and the transition to the boundary layer. We estimate the reduction to approximately 50-70% in the upper troposphere and 25-50% in the mid troposphere. However, the remaining RH differences still result in a spread of 1.2 Wm-2 in tropical mean clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation (OLR). This spread is mainly caused by RH differences in the lower and mid free troposphere, whereas RH differences in the upper troposphere have a minor impact. By examining model differences in moisture space we identify two regimes with a particularly large contribution to the spread in tropical mean clear-sky OLR: rather moist regimes at the transition from deep convective to subsidence regimes and very dry subsidence regimes. Particularly for these regimes a better understanding of the processes controlling the RH biases is needed.

Changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases within the atmosphere lead to changes in radiative fluxes throughout the atmosphere. The value of this change, called the instantaneous radiative forcing, varies across climate models, due partly to differences in the distribution of clouds, humidity, and temperature across models, and partly due to errors introduced by approximate treatments of radiative transfer. This paper describes an experiment within the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparision Project that uses benchmark calculations made with line-by-line models to identify parameterization error in the representation of absorption and emission by greenhouse gases. The clear-sky instantaneous forcing by greenhouse gases to which the world has been subject is computed using a set of 100 profiles, selected from a re-analysis of present-day conditions, that represent the global annual mean forcing with sampling errors of less than 0.01 \si{\watt\per\square\meter}. Six contributing line-by-line models agree in their estimate of this forcing to within 0.025 \si{\watt\per\square\meter} while even recently-developed parameterizations have typical errors four or more times larger, suggesting both that the samples reveal true differences among line-by-line models and that parameterization error will be readily resolved. Agreement among line-by-line models is better in the longwave than in the shortwave where differing treatments of the water vapor vapor continuum affect estimates of forcing by carbon dioxide and methane. The impacts of clouds on instantaneous radiative forcing are roughly estimated, as are adjustments due to stratospheric temperature change. Adjustments are large only for ozone and for carbon dioxide, for which stratospheric cooling introduces modest non-linearity.

Meteorological research satellites on polar orbits observe occasionally the Moon, when it moves through their deep space view. Over the last few decades, a large data set built up, which allows to determine the lunar flux with unprecedented accuracy especially at wavelengths, for which the Earth’s atmosphere is opaque. We determined the disk-integrated brightness temperature of the Moon at 19 wavelengths between 4 and 15 µm and at five frequencies between 89 and 190 GHz for phase angles between -80° and +70° with HIRS, AMSU-B, MHS, and ATMS on NOAA and MetOp satellites

We conduct a series of eight 45-day experiments with a global storm-resolving model (GSRM) to test the sensitivity of relative humidity R in the tropics to changes in model resolution and parameterizations. These changes include changes in horizontal and vertical grid spacing as well as in the parameterizations of microphysics and turbulence, and are chosen to capture currently existing differences among GSRMs. To link the R distribution in the tropical free troposphere with processes in the deep convective regions, we adopt a trajectory-based assessment of the last-saturation paradigm. The perturbations we apply to the model result in tropical mean R changes ranging from 0.5% to 8% (absolute) in the mid troposphere. The generated R spread is similar to that in a multi-model ensemble of GSRMs and smaller than the spread across conventional general circulation models, supporting that an explicit representation of deep convection reduces the uncertainty in tropical R. The largest R changes result from changes in parameterizations, suggesting that model physics represent a major source of humidity spread across GSRMs. The R in the moist tropical regions is disproportionately sensitive to vertical mixing processes within the tropics, which impact R through their effect on the last-saturation temperature rather than their effect on the evolution of the humidity since last-saturation. In our analysis the R of the dry tropical regions strongly depends on the exchange with the extra-tropics. The interaction between tropics and extratropics could change with warming and presage changes in the radiatively sensitive dry regions.

The total lunar eclipse from October 28, 2004, was observed by AMSU-B (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit - B) on NOAA-15 during a couple of minutes of each orbit around the Earth. From this unique vantage point in space it could provide disk-integrated, effective lunar temperatures at lower frequencies than employed in most previous observations of eclipses, in intervals of 100 min. The relative changes in brightness temperature were 6.4±2.1% at 89 GHz and 16.6±2.1% at 183 GHz. This trend of stronger temperature drop at higher frequency was expected on the basis of a new radiative transfer model simulating the global brightness temperatures. Our measurements disprove two results published in the past, but they confirm the claim made before that the changes are similar at the center and for the whole disc. In terms of precision they are comparable to those carried out in the past with radio telescopes on ground.

A major problem with calculating the uncertainties of measurements with weather satellites is the fact that a full characterisation and calibration of their instruments can only be carried out before launch. The Moon, however, makes at least some of these activities possible in flight as well by providing a reliable flux reference at a well-defined position. We used serendipitous observations of the Moon with AMSU-B and MHS on eight different satellites to measure pointing accuracy, spectral channels coregistration, and beamwidth with unprecedented accuracy in flight. In addition we compared these findings with the corresponding values obtained on ground. By analysing more than a hundred Moon intrusions in the deep space view we could determine the radiance of the Moon as a function of its phase angle and distance from the Sun. The difference in average brightness temperature of the lunar disk between perihelion and aphelion amounts to $4.4 \pm 2.3$ K at 183 GHz. We compare the measured brightness temperature of the Moon as a function of phase angle between $-85^{\circ}$ (waxing) and $+76^{\circ}$ (waning) with the predictions from two models and find that one of them reproduces the shape of this function very well.

The article describes a new practical model for the infrared absorption of chlorofluorocarbons and other gases with dense spectra, based on HITRAN absorption cross-sections. The model is very simple, consisting of frequency-dependent polynomial coefficients describing the pressure and temperature dependence of absorption. Currently it is implemented for the halocarbon species required by the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP). This approach offers practical advantages compared to previously available options, and is traceable, since the polynomial coefficients follow directly from the laboratory spectra. The model is applied to the problem of computing instantaneous clear-sky halocarbon radiative efficiencies and present day radiative forcing. Results are in reasonable agreement with earlier assessments that were carried out with the less explicit Pinnock method, and thus broadly validate that method. Overall, halocarbons are responsible for a substantial share of the present-day forcing, 0.573 Watt/squaremeter (instantaneous clear-sky at the TOA), corresponding to approximately 20% of the total anthropogenic forcing, or 44% compared to anthropogenic CO2 forcing alone.