The Influence of Pollution on the Shortwave Albedo of Clouds
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · 1977 · 3,881 citations
Abstract
By increasing droplet concentration and thereby the optical thickness of a cloud, pollution acts to increase the reflectance (albedo) of clouds; by increasing the absorption coefficient it acts to decrease the reflectance. Calculations suggest that the former effect (brightening of the clouds in reflection, hence climatically a cooling effect) dominates for thin to moderately thick clouds, whereas for sufficiently thick clouds the latter effect (climatically a warming effect) can become dominant.
Cite this paper
Twomey, S. A. (1977). The influence of pollution on the shortwave albedo of clouds. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 34(7), 1149–1152. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1977)034<1149:tiopot>2.0.co;2
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