The Influence of Pollution on the Shortwave Albedo of Clouds
S. Twomey
Abstract
By increasing droplet concentration and thereby the optical thickness of a cloud, pollution acts to increase the reflectance (albedo) of clouds; by increasing the absorption coefficient it acts to decrease the reflectance. Calculations suggest that the former effect (brightening of the clouds in reflection, hence climatically a cooling effect) dominates for thin to moderately thick clouds, whereas for sufficiently thick clouds the latter effect (climatically a warming effect) can become dominant.
Topics & Concepts
Albedo (alchemy)ShortwaveEnvironmental scienceAtmospheric sciencesReflectivityPollutionCloud albedoAbsorption (acoustics)Radiative transferReflection (computer programming)Shortwave radiationClimatologyCloud computingMaterials scienceCloud coverGeologyOpticsPhysicsRadiationEcologyComputer scienceBiologyPerformance artOperating systemProgramming languageArtArt historyComposite materialAtmospheric aerosols and cloudsAeolian processes and effectsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols