Retrieval of the aerosol direct radiative effect over clouds from spaceborne spectrometry

[1] The solar radiative absorption by an aerosol layer above clouds is quantified using passive satellite spectrometry from the ultraviolet (UV) to the shortwave infrared (SWIR). UV-absorbing aerosols have a strong signature that can be detected using UV reflectance measurements, even when above clouds. Since the aerosol extinction optical thickness decreases rapidly with increasing wavelength for biomass burning aerosols, the properties of the clouds below the aerosol layer can be retrieved in the SWIR, where aerosol extinction optical thickness is sufficiently small. Using radiative transfer computations, the contribution of the clouds to the reflected radiation can be modeled for the entire solar spectrum. In this way, cloud and aerosol effects can be separated for a scene with aerosols above clouds. Aerosol microphysical assumptions and retrievals are avoided by modeling only the pure (aerosol-free) cloud spectra. An algorithm was developed using the spaceborne spectrometer Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY). The aerosol direct radiative effect (DRE) over clouds over the South Atlantic Ocean west of Africa, averaged through August 2006 was found to be 23 ± 8 Wm−2 with a mean variation over the region in this month of 22 Wm−2. The largest aerosol DRE over clouds found in that month was 132 ± 8 Wm−2. The algorithm can be applied to any instrument, or a combination of instruments, that measures UV, visible and SWIR reflectances at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) simultaneously.