Influence of clouds on the earth's radiation budget determined from GOES dataEstimates of the cloud radiative effects on the earth's regional and zonal radiation budgets derived from GOES data during November 1978 are presented. The diurnal cloud cover variability is shown to affect both the radiation-budget measurements and the estimation of the overall effect of clouds on the net flux. For this data set, the cloud cover causes a decrease in the net flux from the clear-sky value. Thus, the cloud albedo effect outweights the greenhouse effect of the clouds. It is found that the value of the change in the radiation balance is closely related to the amount of incident solar radiation and to the zonal distributions of low, middle, and high cloud cover.
Document ID
19850050773
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Harrison, E. F. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Minnis, P. (NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Sciences Div., Hampton, VA, United States)