A Review of Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Effects

• Published in: Acta meteorologica Sinica Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 1003 - 1028
• Main Author: 刘玉芝 贾瑞 戴铁 谢永坤 石广玉
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg The Chinese Meteorological Society 01.12.2014; Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences,Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000%LASG, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geophysics and Environmental Physics; Meteorology; 光学特性; 吸收性能; 大气气溶胶; 太阳辐射; 综述; 辐射平衡; 辐射效应; 黑碳气溶胶; radiative effect; optical property; aerosol
• ISSN: 0894-0525; 2095-6037; 2198-0934; 2198-0934; 2191-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s13351-014-4045-z

Atmospheric aerosols influence the earth＇s radiative balance directly through scattering and absorbing solar radiation,and indirectly through affecting cloud properties.An understanding of aerosol optical properties is fundamental to studies of aerosol effects on climate.Although many such studies have been undertaken,large uncertainties in describing aerosol optical characteristics remain,especially regarding the absorption properties of different aerosols.Aerosol radiative effects are considered as either positive or negative perturbations to the radiation balance,and they include direct,indirect（albedo effect and cloud lifetime effect）,and semi-direct effects.The total direct effect of anthropogenic aerosols is negative（cooling）,although some components may contribute a positive effect（warming）.Both the albedo effect and cloud lifetime effect cool the atmosphere by increasing cloud optical depth and cloud cover,respectively.Absorbing aerosols,such as carbonaceous aerosols and dust,exert a positive forcing at the top of atmosphere and a negative forcing at the surface,and they can directly warm the atmosphere.Internally mixed black carbon aerosols produce a stronger warming effect than externally mixed black carbon particles do.The semidirect effect of absorbing aerosols could amplify this warming effect.Based on observational（ground- and satellite-based） and simulation studies,this paper reviews current progress in research regarding the optical properties and radiative effects of aerosols and also discusses several important issues to be addressed in future studies.