A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements

Cloud and aerosol contribution to the Earth's radiative budget constitutes one of the most significant uncertainties in future climate projections. To distinguish between clouds and cloud-free air, atmospheric scientists have been using a wide range of instruments, techniques, and algorithms wi...

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Autores: Ruiz de Morales, Jaume, Calbó Angrill, Josep, González Gutiérrez, Josep Abel, Sola, Yolanda
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10256/25295
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Núvols
Clouds
Aerosols
Aerosols atmosfèrics
Atmospheric aerosols
Núvols -- Dinàmica
Clouds -- Dynamics
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spelling A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurementsRuiz de Morales, JaumeCalbó Angrill, JosepGonzález Gutiérrez, Josep AbelSola, YolandaNúvolsCloudsAerosolsAerosols atmosfèricsAtmospheric aerosolsNúvols -- DinàmicaClouds -- DynamicsCloud and aerosol contribution to the Earth's radiative budget constitutes one of the most significant uncertainties in future climate projections. To distinguish between clouds and cloud-free air, atmospheric scientists have been using a wide range of instruments, techniques, and algorithms with various detection thresholds. However, since the change from a cloudy to a cloud-free atmosphere may be gradual and, in some cases, far from obvious, recent research is questioning where the threshold between both phases should be established. These considerations lead to contemplate a transition zone (TZ) between cloud and cloud-free conditions. In the present study, backscatter profiles obtained by a Vaisala CL31 ceilometer were processed to assess the transition zone. First, two widely used cloud detection algorithms were applied and compared: the method provided by the ceilometer manufacturer (Vaisala) and Cloudnetpy, the algorithm from ACTRIS Cloudnet, a project devoted to aerosol, clouds, and trace gases research. Second, a sensitivity analysis was applied to the backscatter and signal-to-noise ratio thresholds used for cloud detection in Cloudnetpy. This methodology has allowed us to assess the vertical distribution of clouds, aerosols, the TZ, and its frequency of occurrence. Results indicate a gradual transition in backscatter retrievals from cloud to cloud-free, where particles detected near cloud boundaries induced higher backscatter values than those found further away. Depending on the thresholds used, we observed a 9.3% (with an estimated range of uncertainty of 5.4[sbnd]20%) variation in cloud occurrence which can be attributed to TZ conditions. Analysing the whole backscatter profile, we found as many TZ conditions as cloudy values, which emphasises the importance of studying the vertical distribution of the TZ. Moreover, the analysis of TZ occurrence in height and time revealed that such conditions concentrate below 800 m during night periods, although annual height-hour distributions involve a remarkable variability among seasons. These findings highlight the importance of either including an additional phase between ‘pure clouds’ and ‘pure aerosols’ or treating them as a continuum of suspended particles in the atmosphereThis study has been funded through project NUBESOL-2 (PID2019-105901RB-I00) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN). Jaume Ruiz de Morales is supported by an IFUdG-AE 2022 fellowshipOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with ElsevierElsevierAgencia Estatal de Investigación2024info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpeer-reviewedapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295http://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295© Atmospheric Research, 2024, vol. 310, art.núm. 107623Articles publicats (D-F)reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)Inglésinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107623info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0169-8095PID2019-105901RB-I00info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/PID2019-105901RB-I00Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:10256/252952026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
title A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
spellingShingle A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
Ruiz de Morales, Jaume
Núvols
Clouds
Aerosols
Aerosols atmosfèrics
Atmospheric aerosols
Núvols -- Dinàmica
Clouds -- Dynamics
title_short A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
title_full A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
title_fullStr A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
title_full_unstemmed A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
title_sort A method to assess the cloud-aerosol transition zone from ceilometer measurements
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ruiz de Morales, Jaume
Calbó Angrill, Josep
González Gutiérrez, Josep Abel
Sola, Yolanda
author Ruiz de Morales, Jaume
author_facet Ruiz de Morales, Jaume
Calbó Angrill, Josep
González Gutiérrez, Josep Abel
Sola, Yolanda
author_role author
author2 Calbó Angrill, Josep
González Gutiérrez, Josep Abel
Sola, Yolanda
author2_role author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Agencia Estatal de Investigación
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Núvols
Clouds
Aerosols
Aerosols atmosfèrics
Atmospheric aerosols
Núvols -- Dinàmica
Clouds -- Dynamics
topic Núvols
Clouds
Aerosols
Aerosols atmosfèrics
Atmospheric aerosols
Núvols -- Dinàmica
Clouds -- Dynamics
description Cloud and aerosol contribution to the Earth's radiative budget constitutes one of the most significant uncertainties in future climate projections. To distinguish between clouds and cloud-free air, atmospheric scientists have been using a wide range of instruments, techniques, and algorithms with various detection thresholds. However, since the change from a cloudy to a cloud-free atmosphere may be gradual and, in some cases, far from obvious, recent research is questioning where the threshold between both phases should be established. These considerations lead to contemplate a transition zone (TZ) between cloud and cloud-free conditions. In the present study, backscatter profiles obtained by a Vaisala CL31 ceilometer were processed to assess the transition zone. First, two widely used cloud detection algorithms were applied and compared: the method provided by the ceilometer manufacturer (Vaisala) and Cloudnetpy, the algorithm from ACTRIS Cloudnet, a project devoted to aerosol, clouds, and trace gases research. Second, a sensitivity analysis was applied to the backscatter and signal-to-noise ratio thresholds used for cloud detection in Cloudnetpy. This methodology has allowed us to assess the vertical distribution of clouds, aerosols, the TZ, and its frequency of occurrence. Results indicate a gradual transition in backscatter retrievals from cloud to cloud-free, where particles detected near cloud boundaries induced higher backscatter values than those found further away. Depending on the thresholds used, we observed a 9.3% (with an estimated range of uncertainty of 5.4[sbnd]20%) variation in cloud occurrence which can be attributed to TZ conditions. Analysing the whole backscatter profile, we found as many TZ conditions as cloudy values, which emphasises the importance of studying the vertical distribution of the TZ. Moreover, the analysis of TZ occurrence in height and time revealed that such conditions concentrate below 800 m during night periods, although annual height-hour distributions involve a remarkable variability among seasons. These findings highlight the importance of either including an additional phase between ‘pure clouds’ and ‘pure aerosols’ or treating them as a continuum of suspended particles in the atmosphere
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
peer-reviewed
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295
http://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295
url http://hdl.handle.net/10256/25295
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107623
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0169-8095
PID2019-105901RB-I00
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/PID2019-105901RB-I00
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv © Atmospheric Research, 2024, vol. 310, art.núm. 107623
Articles publicats (D-F)
reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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