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Global quantification of the dispersion effect with POLDER satellite data
Hengqi Wang1,2, Yiran Peng3, Antonio Di Noia4
1Department of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Nature Communications
|August 1, 2025
Summary
Increased aerosols affect cloud particle size, influencing climate. This study quantifies the Dispersion Effect (DE) on aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI), finding it offsets ACI changes by 7% and -1.4%.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric Science
- Climate Science
- Remote Sensing
Background:
- Aerosols modify cloud particle size distribution (PSD), impacting cloud radiative properties via the Dispersion Effect (DE).
- Global quantification of DE's impact on Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (ACI) is lacking, leading to its omission in satellite-based ACI forcing estimates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a physics-based method for global, observation-based quantification of DE's impact on ACI in liquid-phase stratiform clouds.
- To parameterize DE for improved estimation in large-scale climate models.
Main Methods:
- Utilized polarimetric satellite data to analyze cloud PSD.
- Developed a physics-based approach to quantify DE's influence on ACI.
- Created a parameterization based on global PSD shape parameters.
Main Results:
- Globally, DE offsets ACI changes from droplet number concentration variation by 7%.
- DE offsets ACI changes from liquid water path adjustment by -1.4%.
- A parameterization for DE estimation in large-scale models was developed.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first global, observation-based quantification of DE's impact on ACI.
- The findings enhance understanding of DE and its role in aerosol climate forcing.
- Inclusion of DE in climate models is facilitated, improving aerosol forcing estimates.
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