Radiative Transfer & Modeling

The change in the state of sky from cloudy to cloudless (or vice versa) comprises an additional phase called “transition zone,” in which the characteristics of the particle suspension lay between those corresponding to a pure cloud and those of atmospheric aerosols. This phase, however, is usually considered, in atmospheric monitoring and modeling, as an area containing either aerosol or thin clouds. This study quantifies the uncertainties that this binary assumption may introduce to the estimation of longwave radiative effects at the top and bottom of the atmosphere by using the Fu‐Liou‐Gu (FLG), NewGoddard, and Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for [...]