Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction
Joint Authors
Meskhidze, Nicholas
Nenes, Athanasios
Source
Issue
Vol. 2010, Issue 2010 (31 Dec. 2010), pp.1-13, 13 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2010-07-11
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
13
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Using satellite data for the surface ocean, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and cloud microphysical parameters, we show that statistically significant positive correlations exist between ocean ecosystem productivity, the abundance of submicron aerosols, and cloud microphysical properties over different parts of the remote oceans.
The correlation coefficient for remotely sensed surface chlorophyll a concentration ([Chl-a]) and liquid cloud effective radii over productive areas of the oceans varies between −0.2 and −0.6.
Special attention is given to identifying (and addressing) problems from correlation analysis used in the previous studies that can lead to erroneous conclusions.
A new approach (using the difference between retrieved AOD and predicted sea salt aerosol optical depth, AODdiff) is developed to explore causal links between ocean physical and biological systems and the abundance of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the remote marine atmosphere.
We have found that over multiple time periods, 550 nm AODdiff (sensitive to accumulation mode aerosol, which is the prime contributor to CCN) correlates well with [Chl-a] over the productive waters of the Southern Ocean.
Since [Chl-a] can be used as a proxy of ocean biological productivity, our analysis demonstrates the role of ocean ecology in contributing CCN, thus shaping the microphysical properties of low-level marine clouds.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Meskhidze, Nicholas& Nenes, Athanasios. 2010. Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction. Advances in Meteorology،Vol. 2010, no. 2010, pp.1-13.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-456496
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Meskhidze, Nicholas& Nenes, Athanasios. Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction. Advances in Meteorology No. 2010 (2010), pp.1-13.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-456496
American Medical Association (AMA)
Meskhidze, Nicholas& Nenes, Athanasios. Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction. Advances in Meteorology. 2010. Vol. 2010, no. 2010, pp.1-13.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-456496
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-456496