Measurement of the Effect of Amazon Smoke on Inhibition of Cloud Formation

@article{Koren2004MeasurementOT,
  title={Measurement of the Effect of Amazon Smoke on Inhibition of Cloud Formation},
  author={I. Koren and Y. Kaufman and L. Remer and J. Martins},
  journal={Science},
  year={2004},
  volume={303},
  pages={1342 - 1345}
}
Urban air pollution and smoke from fires have been modeled to reduce cloud formation by absorbing sunlight, thereby cooling the surface and heating the atmosphere. Satellite data over the Amazon region during the biomass burning season showed that scattered cumulus cloud cover was reduced from 38%in clean conditions to 0%for heavy smoke (optical depth of 1.3). This response to the smoke radiative effect reverses the regional smoke instantaneous forcing of climate from –28 watts per square meter… Expand
View on AAAS
stephenschneider.stanford.edu
630 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
28
Background Citations
258
Methods Citations
19
Results Citations
14

630 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

On smoke suppression of clouds in Amazonia
[1] We use large eddy simulations of smoke-cloud interactions to demonstrate the relative importance of various factors responsible for cloud suppression in the biomass burning regions of Amazonia.… Expand
Smoke Invigoration Versus Inhibition of Clouds over the Amazon
TLDR
Focusing on the Amazon, it is shown how a feedback between the optical properties of aerosols and the cloud fraction can modify the aerosol forcing, changing the total radiative energy and redistributing it over the atmospheric column. Expand
Smoke and Pollution Aerosol Effect on Cloud Cover
TLDR
Using solar measurements from Aerosol Robotic Network sites around the globe, a increase in cloud cover with an increase in the aerosol column concentration and an inverse dependence on the aerosols absorption of sunlight is shown. Expand
Modelling the radiative effects of smoke aerosols on carbon fluxes in Amazon
Every year, a dense smoke haze of regional dimensions covers a large portion of South America originated from fire activities in the Amazon Basin and Central parts of Brazil during the… Expand
Lightning response to smoke from Amazonian fires
[1] The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on clouds has the potential to be a key component for climate change predictions, yet is one of the least understood. It is possible that high aerosol loading… Expand
The Impacts of Smoke Aerosols on South American Monsoon
Biomass burning has been extensively used in the past two decades to clean forest and savanna for agriculture use in tropical South America. Smoke aerosols released from biomass burning in this… Expand
Effects of biomass-burning-derived aerosols on precipitation and clouds in the Amazon Basin: a satellite-based empirical study
[1] Biomass burning in the Amazon provides strong input of aerosols into the atmosphere, with potential effects on precipitation, cloud properties, and radiative balance. However, few studies to date… Expand
A regional climate model study of how biomass burning aerosol impacts land-atmosphere interactions over the Amazon
[1] Ensemble simulations of a regional climate model assuming smoke aerosol in the Amazon suggest that dynamic changes of cloud cover contributes to the radiative effect of the smoke on the diurnal… Expand
Direct measurements of the effect of biomass burning over the Amazon on the atmospheric temperature profile
Abstract. Aerosols suspended in the atmosphere interact with solar radiation and clouds, thus change the radiation energy fluxes in the atmospheric column. In this paper we measure changes in the… Expand
Atmospheric response and feedback to radiative forcing from biomass burning in tropical South America
Simulations are performed to understand the importance of smoke from biomass burning in tropical South America to regional radiation and climate. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 51 REFERENCES
Direct Radiative Forcing by Smoke from Biomass Burning
TLDR
Airborne measurements in smoke from biomass burning in Brazil have yielded optical parameters that permit an improved assessment of the effects of smoke on Earth's radiation balance, and direct radiative forcing due to smoke can be large and might indirectly affect global climate. Expand
Effects of Aerosol from Biomass Burning on the Global Radiation Budget
TLDR
An analysis is made of the likely contribution of smoke particles from biomass burning to the global radiation balance, which may add up globally to a cooling effect as large as 2 watts per square meter, comparable to the estimated contribution of sulfate aerosols. Expand
Reduction of tropical cloudiness by soot
TLDR
An opposite mechanism through which aerosols can reduce cloud cover and thus significantly offset aerosol-induced radiative cooling at the top of the atmosphere on a regional scale is demonstrated. Expand
Suppression of rain and snow by urban and industrial air pollution
  • Rosenfeld
  • Environmental Science, Medicine
  • Science
  • 2000
Direct evidence demonstrates that urban and industrial air pollution can completely shut off precipitation from clouds that have temperatures at their tops of about -10 degrees C over large areas.… Expand
Aerosols, Climate, and the Hydrological Cycle
TLDR
Human activities are releasing tiny particles (aerosols) into the atmosphere that enhance scattering and absorption of solar radiation, which can lead to a weaker hydrological cycle, which connects directly to availability and quality of fresh water, a major environmental issue of the 21st century. Expand
A satellite view of aerosols in the climate system
TLDR
Increases in aerosol concentration and changes in their composition, driven by industrialization and an expanding population, may adversely affect the Earth's climate and water supply. Expand
Climate Effects of Black Carbon Aerosols in China and India
TLDR
A global climate model used to investigate possible aerosol contributions to trends in China and India found precipitation and temperature changes in the model that were comparable to those observed if the aerosols included a large proportion of absorbing black carbon (“soot”), similar to observed amounts. Expand
Aerosols, Cloud Microphysics, and Fractional Cloudiness
TLDR
Increases in aerosol concentrations over the oceans may increase the amount of low-level cloudiness through a reduction in drizzle—a process that regulates the liquid-water content and the energetics of shallow marine clouds—to contribute to a cooling of the earth's surface. Expand
Global Air Pollution Crossroads over the Mediterranean
TLDR
The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study, performed in the summer of 2001, uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers, causing air pollution standards to be exceeded throughout the region. Expand
Large differences in tropical aerosol forcing at the top of the atmosphere and Earth's surface
TLDR
An observational method is presented for quantifying aerosol forcing to within ±5 per cent at the Earth's surface and the top of the atmosphere over the tropical northern Indian Ocean to imply that tropical aerosols might slow down the hydrological cycle. Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...