Global estimation of above-cloud aerosols using spaceborne LIDAR

Estimates of global mean direct climate forcing by absorbing aerosols located above boundary layer clouds are large, uncertain, and almost entirely unconstrained by observations. Spaceborne lidar offers a new opportunity of estimating the aerosols at global scale. Here we use two recently available techniques quantifying the above-cloud aerosols using liquid water clouds as lidar targets from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) [Chand et al., 2008]. Both methods can quantify aerosols above clouds and are based on their self-calibrating techniques. We used one year of global data between 70N-70S to show that day time calibration constants are different than night time calibrations constants. A clear latitudinal dependence is observed in the calibrations constants in CALIPSO observations. Using these 'self-calibration' constants, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and angstrom exponent (AE) of 'above- cloud' aerosols are quantified. Biomass burning is a major source of fine mode aerosols in different regions of world. For example, it is observed that June is the onset of the biomass burning fires in Southern Africa, peaking in August and September and then slowly decreasing until November, with a corresponding signature in aerosol optical depth. Layers with aerosol optical depth greater than 0.3 are commonly observed up to several thousand kilometers away from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean. The 'above-cloud' AOD as high as 1.5 is observed in the peak months. Despite of large variations is AOD, mean AE of these aerosols is about 1.6, without any systematic variability away from the source region. The results estimating the aerosols above clouds, including other regions at global scale, will be presented in the AGU meeting. Chand, D., T. L. Anderson, R. Wood, R. J. Charlson, Y. Hu, Z. Liu, and M. Vaughan (2008), Quantifying above-cloud aerosol using spaceborne lidar for improved understanding of cloudy-sky direct climate forcing, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D13206, doi:10.1029/2007JD009433.