{"title":"Recent Revision of the Water Vapour Continuum Model and Impact on Clear-Sky Shortwave Broadband Radiative Transfer Calculations","authors":"Kaah P. Menang","doi":"10.1002/asl.1318","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The water vapour continuum needs to be accurately accounted for in atmospheric radiative transfer calculations. The offline ECMWF radiation scheme was used to assess the impact of the current disagreements in shortwave continuum absorption on the accuracy of clear-sky calculations of solar fluxes and heating rates from 2000 to 20,000 cm<sup>−1</sup> for three standard atmospheres: tropical, mid-latitude summer, and sub-arctic winter. These calculations were carried out at a solar zenith angle of 45°, surface albedo of 0.2, and total solar irradiance of 1361.0 W m<sup>−2</sup>. The MT_CKD 2.5, MT_CKD 4.2, and CAVIAR continuum models were compared. These continuum models were each used to train the gas-optics tables required by the radiation scheme. Differences in the shortwave continuum have a modest impact on shortwave absorption and heating rates. The largest differences are found in the tropical atmosphere due to its higher water vapour content. Absorbed fluxes computed with MT_CKD 2.5 and MT_CKD 4.2 differ by up to ~1.3 W m<sup>−2</sup> (0.6%) while those with CAVIAR and MT_CKD 4.2 differ by up to ~1.7 W m<sup>−2</sup> (0.8%). The heating rate calculated with MT_CKD 2.5 is up to ~0.018 K d<sup>−1</sup> (0.8%) less than that obtained with MT_CKD 4.2. Compared to the heating rate computed with MT_CKD 4.2, the heating rate with CAVIAR is up to ~0.035 K d<sup>−1</sup> (1.5%) higher.</p>","PeriodicalId":50734,"journal":{"name":"Atmospheric Science Letters","volume":"26 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/asl.1318","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Atmospheric Science Letters","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asl.1318","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The water vapour continuum needs to be accurately accounted for in atmospheric radiative transfer calculations. The offline ECMWF radiation scheme was used to assess the impact of the current disagreements in shortwave continuum absorption on the accuracy of clear-sky calculations of solar fluxes and heating rates from 2000 to 20,000 cm−1 for three standard atmospheres: tropical, mid-latitude summer, and sub-arctic winter. These calculations were carried out at a solar zenith angle of 45°, surface albedo of 0.2, and total solar irradiance of 1361.0 W m−2. The MT_CKD 2.5, MT_CKD 4.2, and CAVIAR continuum models were compared. These continuum models were each used to train the gas-optics tables required by the radiation scheme. Differences in the shortwave continuum have a modest impact on shortwave absorption and heating rates. The largest differences are found in the tropical atmosphere due to its higher water vapour content. Absorbed fluxes computed with MT_CKD 2.5 and MT_CKD 4.2 differ by up to ~1.3 W m−2 (0.6%) while those with CAVIAR and MT_CKD 4.2 differ by up to ~1.7 W m−2 (0.8%). The heating rate calculated with MT_CKD 2.5 is up to ~0.018 K d−1 (0.8%) less than that obtained with MT_CKD 4.2. Compared to the heating rate computed with MT_CKD 4.2, the heating rate with CAVIAR is up to ~0.035 K d−1 (1.5%) higher.
在大气辐射传输计算中,需要精确地考虑水蒸气连续体。利用脱机ECMWF辐射方案评估目前短波连续统吸收方面的分歧对2000至20,000 cm−1三个标准大气(热带、中纬度夏季和亚北极冬季)的晴空太阳通量和加热速率计算精度的影响。这些计算是在太阳天顶角为45°,表面反照率为0.2,太阳总辐照度为1361.0 W m−2的情况下进行的。比较MT_CKD 2.5、MT_CKD 4.2和CAVIAR连续模型。这些连续介质模型分别用于训练辐射方案所需的气光学表。短波连续体的差异对短波的吸收和升温速率有一定的影响。最大的差异是在热带大气中发现的,因为它的水蒸气含量较高。mt_ckd2.5和mt_ckd4.2计算的吸收通量相差约1.3 W m−2(0.6%),而CAVIAR和mt_ckd4.2计算的吸收通量相差约1.7 W m−2(0.8%)。MT_CKD 2.5计算的升温速率比MT_CKD 4.2计算的升温速率低~0.018 K d−1(0.8%)。与MT_CKD 4.2计算的升温速率相比,CAVIAR的升温速率高达~0.035 K d−1(1.5%)。
期刊介绍:
Atmospheric Science Letters (ASL) is a wholly Open Access electronic journal. Its aim is to provide a fully peer reviewed publication route for new shorter contributions in the field of atmospheric and closely related sciences. Through its ability to publish shorter contributions more rapidly than conventional journals, ASL offers a framework that promotes new understanding and creates scientific debate - providing a platform for discussing scientific issues and techniques.
We encourage the presentation of multi-disciplinary work and contributions that utilise ideas and techniques from parallel areas. We particularly welcome contributions that maximise the visualisation capabilities offered by a purely on-line journal. ASL welcomes papers in the fields of: Dynamical meteorology; Ocean-atmosphere systems; Climate change, variability and impacts; New or improved observations from instrumentation; Hydrometeorology; Numerical weather prediction; Data assimilation and ensemble forecasting; Physical processes of the atmosphere; Land surface-atmosphere systems.