Global quantification of the dispersion effect with POLDER satellite data.

ABSTRACT: Increased aerosols can modify the shape of the cloud Particle Size Distribution (PSD), thereby influencing the radiative properties of clouds, known as the Dispersion Effect (DE). However, a global, observation-based quantification of its impact on Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (ACI) is lacking, leading to DE being typically ignored in satellite-based estimates of ACI forcing. Here we propose a physics-based method that combines polarimetric satellite data on cloud PSD to achieve global observational quantification of DE's impact on ACI in liquid-phase stratiform clouds. Globally, DE offsets ACI changes induced by droplet number concentration variation and liquid water path adjustment by 7% and -1.4%, respectively. Furthermore, a parameterization based on the global dataset of PSD shape param

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12317032 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature