Definitions of Clear-sky Fluxes and Implications

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dc.contributorDessler, Andrew E.
dc.creatorVerma, Abhishek
dc.date.accessioned2014-01-15T07:05:31Z
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-07T19:59:31Z
dc.date.available2014-01-15T07:05:31Z
dc.date.available2017-04-07T19:59:31Z
dc.date.created2011-12
dc.date.issued2012-02-14
dc.description.abstractClear-sky top-of-atmosphere (TOA) fluxes are important in estimating the impact of clouds on our climate. In this study, we quantitatively compare the clear-sky fluxes measurements of the Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument to clear-sky fluxes from two reanalysis, NASA's Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Application (MERRA), and the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast Interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim). In the first comparison, we compare observed fluxes from individual cloud-free field-of- views to the reanalyses. In the second comparison, we compare monthly averaged observed clear-sky fluxes to those from the reanalyses. Monthly clear-sky fluxes are calculated by averaging fluxes from cloud-free regions. In both comparisons, the fluxes generally agree within +/- 10 W/m^2. Finally, we show that, while the differences between the fluxes of observations and the reanalyses are several W/m2, the inter-annual anomalies agree much better, with zonal and global average inter-annual anomalies typically agreeing within 1 W/m^2. The longwave clear-sky anomalies show excellent agreement even when comparing individual grid points, whereas the shortwave clear-sky anomalies are generally smaller at individual grid points.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-12-10555
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subjectClear-sky fluxes
dc.subjectInter-annual Anomalies
dc.subjectCERES-EBAF
dc.subjectMERRA
dc.subjectERA-Interim
dc.titleDefinitions of Clear-sky Fluxes and Implications
dc.typeThesis

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