Cloud radiative forcing from SEVIRI data: possibile effects of air pollution

Abstract

Clouds are certainly the major factor regulating the Earth radiation budget. Special attention has been dedicated in the last few years to the cloud interaction with aerosol particles through modelling studies, in situ measurements and remote sensing techniques. The alterations that clouds undertake through the interaction with aerosols may have strong implications on the interaction with solar and terrestrial radiation, leading to different radiative forcing estimates with respect to clouds developing in “clean” atmospheric environments. The aim of the present work is to estimate the cloud radiative forcing from SEVIRI data. The cloud properties required for this purpose are obtained from the inversion of SEVIRI spectral measurements in the visible (0.56 - 0.71 μm), near infrared (3.48 – 4.36 μm) and infrared (9.8 – 11.8 μm) channels. The derived cloud properties are in turn used in combination with a suitable radiative transfer model, to estimate the radiation fluxes and subsequently the cloud radiative forcing. The cloud radiative forcing will be estimated in European regions subject to high levels of air pollution, to establish the possible modifications induced by the presence of this type of aerosol.