event
Monday 28 Sep 2015: Recent developments in the quantification of aerosol radiative forcing
Nicolas Bellouin - University of Reading
Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies IAIS Building/ Room: LT2 10:00-11:00
Large uncertainties have affected global quantification of aerosol radiative forcing since the first studies in the 1990s. In this talk, I will first present results of a new uncertainty analysis for the MACC estimates of aerosol radiative forcing (browses and data available at www.gmes-atmosphere.eu/d/services/gac/reanalysis/forcing), which shows that uncertainties in aerosol amounts dominate by far total aerosol radiative forcing uncertainty. Uncertainties in aerosol absorption are important for more focused aspects, such as the assessment of the potential benefits of decreasing black carbon aerosol emissions, and I will present how a careful use of AERONET retrievals and new satellite remote-sensing aerosol products can usefully constrain global aerosol models. Finally, I will discuss the first pieces of evidence for yet another mechanism whereby natural aerosols dampen the impact of interactions between anthropogenic aerosols and clouds.
