Sensitivity of outgoing longwave radiative flux to the global vertical distribution of ozone characterized by instantaneous radiative kernels from Aura-TES

We calculate the sensitivity of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) to the global vertical distribution of tropospheric ozone using ozone profile estimates from Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (Aura‐TES) along with the partial derivatives of spectral radiance with respect to ozone from the Aur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research 2011-07, Vol.116 (D14), p.n/a, Article D14115
Main Authors: Worden, H. M., Bowman, K. W., Kulawik, S. S., Aghedo, A. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Anisotropy
Atmospheric sciences
Climate change
Geophysics
OLR sensitivity
Ozone
Remote sensing
Tropical environments
Troposphere
tropospheric ozone
Vertical distribution
Water vapor
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Summary:We calculate the sensitivity of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) to the global vertical distribution of tropospheric ozone using ozone profile estimates from Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (Aura‐TES) along with the partial derivatives of spectral radiance with respect to ozone from the Aura‐TES operational retrieval algorithm. Accounting for anisotropy, we calculate top of atmosphere instantaneous radiative kernels (IRKs), in W/m2/ppb, for infrared ozone absorption from 985 to 1080 cm−1. Zonal mean distributions for August 2006 show significant variations in the IRK between clear and cloudy sky, ocean and land, and day and night over land. For all sky (clear and cloudy conditions), OLR is significantly less sensitive to ozone in the middle and lower troposphere due to clouds, especially in the tropics. We also compute the longwave radiative effect (LWRE), i.e., the reduction in OLR due to absorption by tropospheric ozone, and find a global average LWRE of 0.33 ± 0.02−0.007+0.018 W/m2 (with uncertainty and bias) for tropospheric ozone with significant variability (σ = 0.23W/m2) under all sky conditions for August 2006. For clear sky, tropical conditions we examine the effect of water vapor in reducing the LWRE from tropospheric ozone. Key Points New satellite data product (TES IRK in W/m2/ppb) for OLR sensitivity to ozone Distributions of OLR sensitivity and radiative effect for IR ozone absorption Clouds have a significant effect on the vertical profiles of IRKs
ISSN:0148-0227
2169-897X
2156-2202
2169-8996
DOI:10.1029/2010JD015101