Articles | Volume 16, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4975-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4975-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Oct 2023
Research article |
| 27 Oct 2023
| 27 Oct 2023
Irradiance and cloud optical properties from solar photovoltaic systems
James Barry
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Stefanie Meilinger
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Klaus Pfeilsticker
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Anna Herman-Czezuch
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Nicola Kimiaie
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Christopher Schirrmeister
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Rone Yousif
International Centre for Sustainable Development, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Tina Buchmann
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Johannes Grabenstein
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Hartwig Deneke
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
Jonas Witthuhn
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
Claudia Emde
Meteorological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Felix Gödde
Meteorological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Bernhard Mayer
Meteorological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Leonhard Scheck
Meteorological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research, Munich, Germany
Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Networked Energy Systems, Oldenburg, Germany
Philipp Hofbauer
egrid applications & consulting GmbH, Kempten, Germany
Matthias Struck
egrid applications & consulting GmbH, Kempten, Germany
Related authors
No articles found.
Silke Groß, Florian Ewald, Bjorn Stevens, Martin Wirth, Georgios Dekoutsidis, André Ehrlich, Dimitra Kouklaki, Konstantin Krüger, Sophie Rosenburg, Lea Volkmer, Jonas von Bismark, Lutz Hirsch, Anna E. Luebke, Eleni Marinou, Bernhard Mayer, Montserrat Pinol Sole, Manfred Wendisch, Julia Windmiller, Vassilis Amiridis, Rob Koopman, Takuji Kubota, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 3933–3959, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3933-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3933-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
In May 2024 the joint European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission EarthCARE was launched. A similar payload as on the satellite was set up on the German research aircraft HALO, and deployed during an extensive measurement campaign to validated the satellite. We present our instrumentation, the measurements, and its potential for the validation of EarthCARE. We show first validation results and assessments of the EarthCARE data quality.
Anna Weber, Fabian Hoffmann, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 8001–8020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8001-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8001-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
The vertical evolution of microphysical cloud properties in low-level mixed-phase clouds during a marine cold air outbreak in the Arctic is analyzed based on measurements collected during the HALO–(𝒜𝒞)3 campaign. In particular, pseudo-vertical profiles of cloud thermodynamic phase and the cloud droplet size are constructed. The measured vertical profiles are compared to predictions from an entraining parcel model to investigate the influence of ice processes on supercooled liquid water droplets.
Antti Lipponen, Jorge Lezaca, Yves-Marie Saint-Drenan, Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt, and Antti Arola
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2743, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
We studied what causes errors in Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service solar radiation data using explainable machine learning methods and ground-based observations. The analysis showed that cloud properties are the main source of errors, while aerosols and surface reflectance have smaller effects. The results improve understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of current models and can support future model development, forecasting and solar energy applications.
Vincent Leroy, Nicolae Marton, Claudia Emde, Nicolas Misk, Misael Gonzalez Almeida, Sebastian Schunke, Noelle Cremer, Ferran Gascon, and Yves Govaerts
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 4289–4318, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-4289-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-4289-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Eradiate is open-source software that models how light travels through Earth's atmosphere and reflects off its surface. Using computer graphics rendering technology, it simulates satellite observations by accurately representing both surface and atmosphere in a unified framework. This bridges otherwise separate scientific communities, enabling the generation of accurate synthetic reference data to improve satellite products used for pollution tracking, climate monitoring, or land use assessment.
Benjamin Weyland, Simon Rosanka, Domenico Taraborrelli, Birger Bohn, Andreas Zahn, Florian Obersteiner, Eric Förster, Mariano Mertens, Patrick Jöckel, Helmut Ziereis, Katharina Kaiser, Horst Fischer, John N. Crowley, Nijing Wang, Achim Edtbauer, Jonathan Williams, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, John P. Burrows, Flora Kluge, Meike K. Rotermund, Andre Butz, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 6825–6856, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6825-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6825-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
The destruction by sunlight of nitrous acid (HONO) produces the so-called detergent of the atmosphere. HONO has been measured in concentrations which exceed predictions based on known chemistry for decades. Several reactions have been proposed which may explain this excess HONO. This study reports on airborne measurements of HONO; the observations exceed predictions and form a C-shaped profile in the troposphere. Together with a host of other measurements, various reactions are investigated.
Jonas Witthuhn, Hartwig Deneke, Andreas Macke, Oscar Ritter, Jens Redemann, Connor J. Flynn, Abdulamid A. Fakoya, Bradley F. Lamkin, Emily D. Lenhardt, Logan T. Mitchell, Emily K. West, David M. Romps, Rusen Öktem, and Heike Kalesse-Los
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 5727–5745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-5727-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-5727-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines how solar irradiance changes when sunlight passes from clear sky into cloud shadows, focusing on 3‑D radiative effects of shallow cumulus clouds. Using data from a dense pyranometer network and cloud masks from cameras we found that irradiance can rise up to 20 % above clear‑sky levels near cloud edges. Key drivers include sun‑cloud geometry and microphysical cloud properties. The results highlight the need to incorporate such 3‑D effects in atmospheric models.
Richard Maier, Fabian Jakub, Fabian Hoffmann, and Bernhard Mayer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1417, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1417, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Most atmospheric models only use 1D radiation, neglecting any 3D radiative effects. Here, we show that the dynamic TenStream solver provides a computationally efficient way to represent these effects. Like full 3D radiation, it causes daytime clouds to organize into streets, grow larger, and contain more liquid water. We show that this occurs because 3D radiation does not shade cloud updrafts and modifies the surface energy balance, resulting in an increased latent heat flux into the atmosphere.
Anna Weber, Benjamin Kirbus, Manfred Wendisch, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 3521–3540, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3521-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3521-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Macrophysical and microphysical properties of clouds and their evolution during the initial phase of marine cold air outbreaks in the Arctic are studied with a focus on cloud thermodynamic phase partitioning and phase transitions. To this end, high-resolution quasi-Lagrangian observations of the hyperspectral and polarized imaging system specMACS during the HALO-(AC)3 campaign are combined with backward trajectories. Six cold air outbreaks with varying strengths are analyzed and compared.
Costanza Civale, M. Dolores Andrés Hernández, Jean-Philippe Putaud, Francesca Barnaba, Henri Diémoz, Johannes Schneider, Helmut Ziereis, Katharina Kaiser, Jörg Schmidt, Ovid Oktavian Krüger, Bruna Holanda, Robert Baumann, Benjamin Weyland, Eric Förster, Midhun George, Yangzhuoran Liu, Daniel Sauer, Jennifer Wolf, Annachiara Bellini, Birger Bohn, Klaus Pfeilsticker, and John Philip Burrows
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6458, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6458, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study combines measurements of gases and particles at the ground and on-board an instrumented aircraft to investigate pollution transport over the Po Valley, a major atmospheric pollution hotspot in Europe. Overall, the extensive data set obtained at different altitudes provides insight into the mixing of pollution plumes and their export towards the Adriatic coast as well as with naturally occurring dust and its impact on air quality over the Po Plain.
Linda Forster, Anna Weber, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7853–7863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7853-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7853-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
CrystalTrace is a Monte Carlo raytracing algorithm for simulating radiative transfer in ice clouds with different crystal shapes and orientations. Integrated into libradtran's MYSTIC solver, it enables efficient, realistic simulations of ice alongside water clouds. By computing single-scattering properties online at the crystal scale, it eliminates the need for precomputed lookup tables, improving efficiency and angular resolution for satellite, airborne, and ground-based observation retrievals.
Anna Weber, Veronika Pörtge, Claudia Emde, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7581–7601, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7581-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7581-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, a new quantitative retrieval of cloud thermodynamic phase partitioning based on multi-angle polarimetric imaging is presented. The retrieval is validated using synthetic data for idealized and realistic cloud cases and applied to measurements of the airborne specMACS instrument during the HALO-(AC)3 campaign. It provides high spatial resolution information about phase partitioning at cloud top and allows for example to study phase transitions in Arctic mixed-phase clouds.
Matthew J. Rowlinson, Lucy J. Carpenter, Mat J. Evans, James D. Lee, Simone T. Andersen, Tomas Sherwen, Anna B. Callaghan, Roberto Sommariva, William Bloss, Siqi Hou, Leigh R. Crilley, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Benjamin Weyland, Thomas B. Ryerson, Patrick R. Veres, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Hongyu Guo, Benjamin A. Nault, Jose L. Jimenez, and Khanneh Wadinga Fomba
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16945–16968, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16945-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16945-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
HONO is key to tropospheric chemistry. Observations show high HONO concentrations in remote air, possibly explained by nitrate aerosol photolysis. We use observations to parameterize nitrate photolysis, evaluating simulated HONO against observations from multiple sources. We show improved agreement with observed HONO, but overestimates in NOx and O3, beyond observational constraints. This implies uncertainties in the NOx budget and our understanding of atmospheric chemistry.
Anna Weber, Gregor Köcher, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 5805–5821, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5805-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5805-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A neural-network-based fast forward operator for polarized 3D radiative transfer is presented. The forward operator uses the new InDEpendent column local halF-sphere ApproXimation (IDEFAX). Polarized radiances simulated with IDEFAX and the forward operator were validated against full 3D radiative transfer simulations with MYSTIC and show a significantly improved representation of 3D radiative effects compared to the plane-parallel independent column approximation at comparable computation times.
Marcus Klingebiel, André Ehrlich, Micha Gryschka, Nils Risse, Nina Maherndl, Imke Schirmacher, Sophie Rosenburg, Sabine Hörnig, Manuel Moser, Evelyn Jäkel, Michael Schäfer, Hartwig Deneke, Mario Mech, Christiane Voigt, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 9787–9801, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9787-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9787-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study is using aircraft measurements from the HALO-(𝒜𝒞)³ campaign to investigate the transition from organized Arctic cloud street structures to more scattered clouds, which we call isotropic cloud patterns. We show that lower wind speeds cause this transition. In addition, we look at the changes in the cloud coverage, the height of the clouds, the cloud particles, and the radiative properties.
Job I. Wiltink, Hartwig Deneke, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, and Jan Fokke Meirink
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3917–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3917-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3917-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Global horizontal irradiance retrievals from satellite observations are affected by spatial displacements due to parallax and cloud shadows. We assess different approaches to correct for these displacements and quantify their added value by comparison with a network of ground-based pyranometer observations. The corrections are found to become increasingly important at higher spatial resolutions and are most relevant for variable cloud types.
Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Christopher J. Cox, Hartwig Deneke, J. Brant Dodson, Anja Hünerbein, Matthew D. Shupe, Patrick C. Taylor, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3929–3960, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3929-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3929-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how clouds affect the climate, especially in the Arctic, is crucial. This study used data from the largest polar expedition in history, MOSAiC, and the CERES satellite to analyse the impact of clouds on radiation. Simulations showed accurate results, aligning with observations. Over the year, clouds caused the atmospheric surface system to lose 5.2 W m−² of radiative energy to space, while the surface gained 25 W m−² and the atmosphere cooled by 30.2 W m−².
Johanna Roschke, Jonas Witthuhn, Marcus Klingebiel, Moritz Haarig, Andreas Foth, Anton Kötsche, and Heike Kalesse-Los
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 487–508, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-487-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-487-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a technique to discriminate between the Cloudnet target classification of "drizzle or rain" and sea salt aerosols that is applicable to marine Cloudnet sites. The method is crucial for investigating the occurrence of precipitation and significantly improves the Cloudnet target classification scheme for measurements over the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO). A first-ever analysis of the Cloudnet product including the new "haze echo" target over 2 years at the BCO is presented.
Lea Volkmer, Tobias Kölling, Tobias Zinner, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6807–6817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6807-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6807-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The importance of the consideration of cloud motion for the stereographic determination of cloud top height from aircraft observations is demonstrated using measurements of the airborne spectrometer of the Munich Aerosol Cloud Scanner (specMACS). A method for cloud motion correction using model winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is presented and validated using both real measurements and realistic radiative transfer simulations.
Claudia Emde, Veronika Pörtge, Mihail Manev, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6769–6789, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6769-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6769-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce an innovative method to retrieve the cloud fraction and optical thickness of liquid water clouds over the ocean based on polarimetry. This is well suited for satellite observations providing multi-angle polarization measurements. Cloud fraction and cloud optical thickness can be derived from measurements at two viewing angles: one within the cloudbow and one in the sun glint region.
Job I. Wiltink, Hartwig Deneke, Yves-Marie Saint-Drenan, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, and Jan Fokke Meirink
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6003–6024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Meteosat Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) global horizontal irradiance (GHI) retrievals are validated at standard and increased spatial resolution against a network of 99 pyranometers. GHI accuracy is strongly dependent on the cloud regime. Days with variable cloud conditions show significant accuracy improvements when retrieved at higher resolution. We highlight the benefits of dense network observations and a cloud-regime-resolved approach in validating GHI retrievals.
Giulia Roccetti, Luca Bugliaro, Felix Gödde, Claudia Emde, Ulrich Hamann, Mihail Manev, Michael Fritz Sterzik, and Cedric Wehrum
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6025–6046, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6025-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6025-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The amount of sunlight reflected by the Earth’s surface (albedo) is vital for the Earth's radiative system. While satellite instruments offer detailed spatial and temporal albedo maps, they only cover seven wavelength bands. We generate albedo maps that fully span the visible and near-infrared range using a machine learning algorithm. These maps reveal how the reflectivity of different land surfaces varies throughout the year. Our dataset enhances the understanding of the Earth's energy balance.
Zili He, Quentin Libois, Najda Villefranque, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, and Fleur Couvreux
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11391–11408, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses observations and simulations to analyze how cumulus clouds affect spacial solar radiation variability on the ground. Results show that the simulations reproduce the observations well and improve understanding of cloud impacts on radiation. The research also indicates that a few strategically placed sensors, capitalizing on measurement timing, can effectively measure these variations, aiding in the development of detailed weather prediction models.
Johanna Mayer, Bernhard Mayer, Luca Bugliaro, Ralf Meerkötter, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5161–5185, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5161-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5161-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses radiative transfer calculations to characterize the relation of two satellite channel combinations (namely infrared window brightness temperature differences – BTDs – of SEVIRI) to the thermodynamic cloud phase. A sensitivity analysis reveals the complex interplay of cloud parameters and their contribution to the observed phase dependence of BTDs. This knowledge helps to design optimal cloud-phase retrievals and to understand their potential and limitations.
Manfred Wendisch, Susanne Crewell, André Ehrlich, Andreas Herber, Benjamin Kirbus, Christof Lüpkes, Mario Mech, Steven J. Abel, Elisa F. Akansu, Felix Ament, Clémantyne Aubry, Sebastian Becker, Stephan Borrmann, Heiko Bozem, Marlen Brückner, Hans-Christian Clemen, Sandro Dahlke, Georgios Dekoutsidis, Julien Delanoë, Elena De La Torre Castro, Henning Dorff, Regis Dupuy, Oliver Eppers, Florian Ewald, Geet George, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Sarah Grawe, Silke Groß, Jörg Hartmann, Silvia Henning, Lutz Hirsch, Evelyn Jäkel, Philipp Joppe, Olivier Jourdan, Zsofia Jurányi, Michail Karalis, Mona Kellermann, Marcus Klingebiel, Michael Lonardi, Johannes Lucke, Anna E. Luebke, Maximilian Maahn, Nina Maherndl, Marion Maturilli, Bernhard Mayer, Johanna Mayer, Stephan Mertes, Janosch Michaelis, Michel Michalkov, Guillaume Mioche, Manuel Moser, Hanno Müller, Roel Neggers, Davide Ori, Daria Paul, Fiona M. Paulus, Christian Pilz, Felix Pithan, Mira Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Maximilian Ringel, Nils Risse, Gregory C. Roberts, Sophie Rosenburg, Johannes Röttenbacher, Janna Rückert, Michael Schäfer, Jonas Schaefer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Jörg Schmidt, Sebastian Schmidt, Johannes Schneider, Sabrina Schnitt, Anja Schwarz, Holger Siebert, Harald Sodemann, Tim Sperzel, Gunnar Spreen, Bjorn Stevens, Frank Stratmann, Gunilla Svensson, Christian Tatzelt, Thomas Tuch, Timo Vihma, Christiane Voigt, Lea Volkmer, Andreas Walbröl, Anna Weber, Birgit Wehner, Bruno Wetzel, Martin Wirth, and Tobias Zinner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8865–8892, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe. Warm-air intrusions (WAIs) into the Arctic may play an important role in explaining this phenomenon. Cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) out of the Arctic may link the Arctic climate changes to mid-latitude weather. In our article, we describe how to observe air mass transformations during CAOs and WAIs using three research aircraft instrumented with state-of-the-art remote-sensing and in situ measurement devices.
Karolin Voss, Philip Holzbeck, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Ralph Kleinschek, Gerald Wetzel, Blanca Fuentes Andrade, Michael Höpfner, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4507–4528, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4507-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A novel balloon-borne instrument for direct sun and solar occultation measurements of several UV–Vis absorbing gases (e.g. O3, NO2, BrO, IO, and HONO) is described. Its major design features and performance during two stratospheric deployments are discussed. From the measured overhead BrO concentration and a suitable photochemical correction, total stratospheric bromine is inferred to (17.5 ± 2.2) ppt in air masses which entered the stratosphere around early 2017 ± 1 year.
Johanna Mayer, Luca Bugliaro, Bernhard Mayer, Dennis Piontek, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4015–4039, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4015-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
ProPS (PRObabilistic cloud top Phase retrieval for SEVIRI) is a method to detect clouds and their thermodynamic phase with a geostationary satellite, distinguishing between clear sky and ice, mixed-phase, supercooled and warm liquid clouds. It uses a Bayesian approach based on the lidar–radar product DARDAR. The method allows studying cloud phases, especially mixed-phase and supercooled clouds, rarely observed from geostationary satellites. This can be used for comparison with climate models.
Richard Maier, Fabian Jakub, Claudia Emde, Mihail Manev, Aiko Voigt, and Bernhard Mayer
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3357–3383, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3357-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3357-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Based on the TenStream solver, we present a new method to accelerate 3D radiative transfer towards the speed of currently used 1D solvers. Using a shallow-cumulus-cloud time series, we evaluate the performance of this new solver in terms of both speed and accuracy. Compared to a 3D benchmark simulation, we show that our new solver is able to determine much more accurate irradiances and heating rates than a 1D δ-Eddington solver, even when operated with a similar computational demand.
Ilias Fountoulakis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, Angelos Nersesian, Maria Tsichla, Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Vasileios Barlakas, Claudia Emde, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4915–4948, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In our study we provide an assessment, through a sensitivity study, of the limitations of models to calculate the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) due to the underrepresentation of its size, refractive index (RI), and shape. Our results indicate the necessity of including more realistic sizes and RIs for dust particles in dust models, in order to derive better estimations of the dust direct radiative effects.
Behrooz Keshtgar, Aiko Voigt, Bernhard Mayer, and Corinna Hoose
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4751–4769, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4751-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4751-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud-radiative heating (CRH) affects extratropical cyclones but is uncertain in weather and climate models. We provide a framework to quantify uncertainties in CRH within an extratropical cyclone due to four factors and show that the parameterization of ice optical properties contributes significantly to uncertainty in CRH. We also argue that ice optical properties, by affecting CRH on spatial scales of 100 km, are relevant for the large-scale dynamics of extratropical cyclones.
Santo Fedele Colosimo, Nathaniel Brockway, Vijay Natraj, Robert Spurr, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Lisa Scalone, Max Spolaor, Sarah Woods, and Jochen Stutz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2367–2385, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2367-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2367-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cirrus clouds are poorly understood components of the climate system, in part due to the challenge of observing thin, sub-visible ice clouds. We address this issue with a new observational approach that uses the remote sensing of near-infrared ice water absorption features from a high-altitude aircraft. We describe the underlying principle of this approach and present a new procedure to retrieve ice concentration in cirrus clouds. Our retrievals compare well with in situ observations.
Lea Volkmer, Veronika Pörtge, Fabian Jakub, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1703–1719, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1703-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1703-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Three-dimensional radiative transfer simulations are used to evaluate the performance of retrieval algorithms in the derivation of cloud geometry (cloud top heights) and cloud droplet size distributions from two-dimensional polarized radiance measurements of the airborne spectrometer of the Munich Aerosol Cloud Scanner. The cloud droplet size distributions are derived for the effective radius and variance. The simulations are based on cloud data from highly resolved large-eddy simulations.
Anna Weber, Tobias Kölling, Veronika Pörtge, Andreas Baumgartner, Clemens Rammeloo, Tobias Zinner, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1419–1439, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1419-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1419-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we introduce the 2D RGB polarization-resolving cameras of the airborne hyperspectral and polarized imaging system specMACS. A full characterization and calibration of the cameras including a geometric calibration as well as a radiometric characterization is provided, allowing for the computation of absolute calibrated, georeferenced Stokes vectors rotated into the scattering plane. We validate the calibration by comparing sunglint measurements to radiative transfer simulations.
Adrien Deroubaix, Marco Vountas, Benjamin Gaubert, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Stephan Borrmann, Guy Brasseur, Bruna Holanda, Yugo Kanaya, Katharina Kaiser, Flora Kluge, Ovid Oktavian Krüger, Inga Labuhn, Michael Lichtenstern, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Mira Pöhlker, Hans Schlager, Johannes Schneider, Guillaume Siour, Basudev Swain, Paolo Tuccella, Kameswara S. Vinjamuri, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Benjamin Weyland, and John P. Burrows
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-516, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-516, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
This study assesses atmospheric composition using air quality models during aircraft campaigns in Europe and Asia, focusing on carbonaceous aerosols and trace gases. While carbon monoxide is well modeled, other pollutants have moderate to weak agreement with observations. Wind speed modeling is reliable for identifying pollution plumes, where models tend to overestimate concentrations. This highlights challenges in accurately modeling aerosol and trace gas composition, particularly in cities.
Adrien Deroubaix, Marco Vountas, Benjamin Gaubert, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Stephan Borrmann, Guy Brasseur, Bruna Holanda, Yugo Kanaya, Katharina Kaiser, Flora Kluge, Ovid Oktavian Krüger, Inga Labuhn, Michael Lichtenstern, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Mira Pöhlker, Hans Schlager, Johannes Schneider, Guillaume Siour, Basudev Swain, Paolo Tuccella, Kameswara S. Vinjamuri, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Benjamin Weyland, and John P. Burrows
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-521, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-521, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the proportional relationships between carbonaceous aerosols (black and organic carbon) and trace gases using airborne measurements from two campaigns in Europe and East Asia. Differences between regions were found, but air quality models struggled to reproduce them accurately. We show that these proportional relationships can help to constrain models and can be used to infer aerosol concentrations from satellite observations of trace gases, especially in urban areas.
Anja Hünerbein, Sebastian Bley, Hartwig Deneke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and Andi Walther
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 261–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The ESA cloud, aerosol and radiation mission EarthCARE will provide active profiling and passive imaging measurements from a single satellite platform. The passive multi-spectral imager (MSI) will add information in the across-track direction. We present the cloud optical and physical properties algorithm, which combines the visible to infrared MSI channels to determine the cloud top pressure, optical thickness, particle size and water path.
Hannes Jascha Griesche, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 597–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic is strongly affected by climate change and the role of clouds therein is not yet completely understood. Measurements from the Arctic expedition PS106 were used to simulate radiative fluxes with and without clouds at very low altitudes (below 165 m), and their radiative effect was calculated to be 54 Wm-2. The low heights of these clouds make them hard to observe. This study shows the importance of accurate measurements and simulations of clouds and gives suggestions for improvements.
Samer Chaaraoui, Sebastian Houben, and Stefanie Meilinger
Adv. Sci. Res., 20, 129–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-20-129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-20-129-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This method generates probabilistic solar power forecasts of up to 30 min using artificial intelligence and fish eye images of the sky. We investigated the impact of parameters describing the variability of the solar power on the forecast performance and divided the solar power to its direct and diffuse components. The method achieves overall good performance, while variability parameters and dividing the solar power don't show any performance gain. However, training time can be decreased.
Florian Baur, Leonhard Scheck, Christina Stumpf, Christina Köpken-Watts, and Roland Potthast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5305–5326, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5305-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5305-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Near-infrared satellite images have information on clouds that is complementary to what is available from the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. Using this information for data assimilation and model evaluation requires a fast, accurate forward operator to compute synthetic images from numerical weather prediction model output. We discuss a novel, neural-network-based approach for the 1.6 µm near-infrared channel that is suitable for this purpose and also works for other solar channels.
Midhun George, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Vladyslav Nenakhov, Yangzhuoran Liu, John Philip Burrows, Birger Bohn, Eric Förster, Florian Obersteiner, Andreas Zahn, Theresa Harlaß, Helmut Ziereis, Hans Schlager, Benjamin Schreiner, Flora Kluge, Katja Bigge, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7799–7822, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7799-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7799-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The applicability of photostationary steady-state (PSS) assumptions to estimate the amount of the sum of peroxy radicals (RO2*) during the EMeRGe airborne observations from the known radical chemistry and onboard measurements of RO2* precursors, photolysis frequencies, and other trace gases such as NOx and O3 was investigated. The comparison of the calculated RO2* with the actual measurements provides an insight into the main processes controlling their concentration in the air masses measured.
Philipp Gregor, Tobias Zinner, Fabian Jakub, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3257–3271, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3257-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3257-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work introduces MACIN, a model for short-term forecasting of direct irradiance for solar energy applications. MACIN exploits cloud images of multiple cameras to predict irradiance. The model is applied to artificial images of clouds from a weather model. The artificial cloud data allow for a more in-depth evaluation and attribution of errors compared with real data. Good performance of derived cloud information and significant forecast improvements over a baseline forecast were found.
Anja Hünerbein, Sebastian Bley, Stefan Horn, Hartwig Deneke, and Andi Walther
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2821–2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2821-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2821-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) on board the EarthCARE satellite will provide the information needed for describing the cloud and aerosol properties in the cross-track direction, complementing the measurements from the Cloud Profiling Radar, Atmospheric Lidar and Broad-Band Radiometer. The accurate discrimination between clear and cloudy pixels is an essential first step. Therefore, the cloud mask algorithm provides a cloud flag, cloud phase and cloud type product for the MSI observations.
Heike Kalesse-Los, Anton Kötsche, Andreas Foth, Johannes Röttenbacher, Teresa Vogl, and Jonas Witthuhn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1683–1704, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1683-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1683-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Virga-Sniffer, a new modular open-source Python package tool to characterize full precipitation evaporation (so-called virga) from ceilometer cloud base height and vertically pointing cloud radar reflectivity time–height fields, is described. Results of its first application to RV Meteor observations during the EUREC4A field experiment in January–February 2020 are shown. About half of all detected clouds with bases below the trade inversion height were found to produce virga.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Jonas Witthuhn, Hartwig Deneke, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Gregor Walter, and Fabian Senf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2901–2925, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2901-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that smoke layers can reach the tropopause via the self-lofting effect within 3–7 d in the absence of pyrocumulonimbus convection if the
aerosol optical thickness is larger than approximately 2 for a longer time period. When reaching the stratosphere, wildfire smoke can sensitively influence the stratospheric composition on a hemispheric scale and thus can affect the Earth’s climate and the ozone layer.
Chuan-Yao Lin, Wan-Chin Chen, Yi-Yun Chien, Charles C. K. Chou, Chian-Yi Liu, Helmut Ziereis, Hans Schlager, Eric Förster, Florian Obersteiner, Ovid O. Krüger, Bruna A. Holanda, Mira L. Pöhlker, Katharina Kaiser, Johannes Schneider, Birger Bohn, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Benjamin Weyland, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2627–2647, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2627-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2627-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
During the EMeRGe campaign in Asia, atmospheric pollutants were measured on board the HALO aircraft. The WRF-Chem model was employed to evaluate the biomass burning (BB) plume transported from Indochina and its impact on the downstream areas. The combination of BB aerosol enhancement with cloud water resulted in a reduction in incoming shortwave radiation at the surface in southern China and the East China Sea, which potentially has significant regional climate implications.
Phuc Thi Minh Ha, Yugo Kanaya, Fumikazu Taketani, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Benjamin Schreiner, Klaus Pfeilsticker, and Kengo Sudo
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 927–960, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-927-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-927-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
HONO affects tropospheric oxidizing capacity; thus, it is implemented into the chemistry–climate model CHASER. The model substantially underpredicts daytime HONO, while nitrate photolysis on surfaces can supplement the daytime HONO budget. Current HONO chemistry predicts reductions of 20.4 % for global tropospheric NOx, 40–67 % for OH, and 30–45 % for O3 in the summer North Pacific. In contrast, OH and O3 winter levels in China are greatly enhanced.
Veronika Pörtge, Tobias Kölling, Anna Weber, Lea Volkmer, Claudia Emde, Tobias Zinner, Linda Forster, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 645–667, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-645-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-645-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we analyze polarized cloudbow observations by the airborne camera system specMACS to retrieve the cloud droplet size distribution defined by the effective radius (reff) and the effective variance (veff). Two case studies of trade-wind cumulus clouds observed during the EUREC4A field campaign are presented. The results are combined into maps of reff and veff with a very high spatial resolution (100 m × 100 m) that allow new insights into cloud microphysics.
Flora Kluge, Tilman Hüneke, Christophe Lerot, Simon Rosanka, Meike K. Rotermund, Domenico Taraborrelli, Benjamin Weyland, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1369–1401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1369-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1369-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using airborne glyoxal concentration and vertical column density measurements, vertical profiles are inferred for eight global regions in aged biomass burning plumes and the tropical marine boundary layer. Using TROPOMI observations, an analysis of space- and airborne measurements is performed. A comparison to EMAC simulations shows a general glyoxal underprediction, which points to various missing sources and precursors from anthropogenic activities, biomass burning, and the sea surface.
Behrooz Keshtgar, Aiko Voigt, Corinna Hoose, Michael Riemer, and Bernhard Mayer
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 115–132, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-115-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-115-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Forecasting extratropical cyclones is challenging due to many physical factors influencing their behavior. One such factor is the impact of heating and cooling of the atmosphere by the interaction between clouds and radiation. In this study, we show that cloud-radiative heating (CRH) increases the intensity of an idealized cyclone and affects its predictability. We find that CRH affects the cyclone mostly via increasing latent heat release and subsequent changes in the synoptic circulation.
Linda Forster and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15179–15205, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15179-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15179-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a novel retrieval using ground-based imaging observations of halo displays together with radiative transfer simulations to help improve our understanding of ice crystal properties representative of cirrus clouds. Analysis of 4400 calibrated HaloCam images featuring a 22° halo revealed aggregates of hexagonal columns of 20 µm effective radius with a mixture of about 37 % smooth and 63% severely roughened surfaces as the best match in general.
Huan Yu, Claudia Emde, Arve Kylling, Ben Veihelmann, Bernhard Mayer, Kerstin Stebel, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5743–5768, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5743-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5743-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we have investigated the impact of 3D clouds on the tropospheric NO2 retrieval from UV–visible sensors. We applied standard NO2 retrieval methods including cloud corrections to synthetic data generated by the 3D radiative transfer model. A sensitivity study was done for synthetic data, and dependencies on various parameters were investigated. Possible mitigation strategies were investigated and compared based on 3D simulations and observed data.
Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Hannes J. Griesche, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9313–9348, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9313-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9313-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This article describes an intercomparison of radiative fluxes and cloud properties from satellite, shipborne observations, and 1D radiative transfer simulations. The analysis focuses on research for PS106 expedition aboard the German research vessel, Polarstern. The results are presented in detailed case studies, time series for the PS106 cruise and extended to the central Arctic region. The findings illustrate the main periods of agreement and discrepancies of both points of view.
Arve Kylling, Claudia Emde, Huan Yu, Michel van Roozendael, Kerstin Stebel, Ben Veihelmann, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3481–3495, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3481-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3481-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may be measured by satellite instruments sensitive to solar ultraviolet–visible radiation reflected from Earth and its atmosphere. For a single pixel, clouds in neighbouring pixels may affect the radiation and hence the retrieved trace gas amount. We found that for a solar zenith angle less than about 40° this cloud-related NO2 bias is typically below 10 %, while for larger solar zenith angles the NO2 bias is on the order of tens of percent.
M. Dolores Andrés Hernández, Andreas Hilboll, Helmut Ziereis, Eric Förster, Ovid O. Krüger, Katharina Kaiser, Johannes Schneider, Francesca Barnaba, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Jörg Schmidt, Heidi Huntrieser, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Midhun George, Vladyslav Nenakhov, Theresa Harlass, Bruna A. Holanda, Jennifer Wolf, Lisa Eirenschmalz, Marc Krebsbach, Mira L. Pöhlker, Anna B. Kalisz Hedegaard, Linlu Mei, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Yangzhuoran Liu, Ralf Koppmann, Hans Schlager, Birger Bohn, Ulrich Schumann, Andreas Richter, Benjamin Schreiner, Daniel Sauer, Robert Baumann, Mariano Mertens, Patrick Jöckel, Markus Kilian, Greta Stratmann, Christopher Pöhlker, Monica Campanelli, Marco Pandolfi, Michael Sicard, José L. Gómez-Amo, Manuel Pujadas, Katja Bigge, Flora Kluge, Anja Schwarz, Nikos Daskalakis, David Walter, Andreas Zahn, Ulrich Pöschl, Harald Bönisch, Stephan Borrmann, Ulrich Platt, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5877–5924, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5877-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
EMeRGe provides a unique set of in situ and remote sensing airborne measurements of trace gases and aerosol particles along selected flight routes in the lower troposphere over Europe. The interpretation uses also complementary collocated ground-based and satellite measurements. The collected data help to improve the current understanding of the complex spatial distribution of trace gases and aerosol particles resulting from mixing, transport, and transformation of pollution plumes over Europe.
Luca Bugliaro, Dennis Piontek, Stephan Kox, Marius Schmidl, Bernhard Mayer, Richard Müller, Margarita Vázquez-Navarro, Daniel M. Peters, Roy G. Grainger, Josef Gasteiger, and Jayanta Kar
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1029–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1029-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1029-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The monitoring of ash dispersion in the atmosphere is an important task for satellite remote sensing since ash represents a threat to air traffic. We present an AI-based method that retrieves the spatial extension and properties of volcanic ash clouds with high temporal resolution during day and night by means of geostationary satellite measurements. This algorithm, trained on realistic observations simulated with a radiative transfer model, runs operationally at the German Weather Service.
Claudia Emde, Huan Yu, Arve Kylling, Michel van Roozendael, Kerstin Stebel, Ben Veihelmann, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1587–1608, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1587-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1587-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Retrievals of trace gas concentrations from satellite observations can be affected by clouds in the vicinity, either by shadowing or by scattering of radiation from clouds in the clear region. We used a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model to generate synthetic satellite observations, which we used to test retrieval algorithms and to quantify the error of retrieved NO2 vertical column density due to cloud scattering.
Heike Konow, Florian Ewald, Geet George, Marek Jacob, Marcus Klingebiel, Tobias Kölling, Anna E. Luebke, Theresa Mieslinger, Veronika Pörtge, Jule Radtke, Michael Schäfer, Hauke Schulz, Raphaela Vogel, Martin Wirth, Sandrine Bony, Susanne Crewell, André Ehrlich, Linda Forster, Andreas Giez, Felix Gödde, Silke Groß, Manuel Gutleben, Martin Hagen, Lutz Hirsch, Friedhelm Jansen, Theresa Lang, Bernhard Mayer, Mario Mech, Marc Prange, Sabrina Schnitt, Jessica Vial, Andreas Walbröl, Manfred Wendisch, Kevin Wolf, Tobias Zinner, Martin Zöger, Felix Ament, and Bjorn Stevens
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5545–5563, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5545-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5545-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The German research aircraft HALO took part in the research campaign EUREC4A in January and February 2020. The focus area was the tropical Atlantic east of the island of Barbados. We describe the characteristics of the 15 research flights, provide auxiliary information, derive combined cloud mask products from all instruments that observe clouds on board the aircraft, and provide code examples that help new users of the data to get started.
Paul D. Hamer, Virginie Marécal, Ryan Hossaini, Michel Pirre, Gisèle Krysztofiak, Franziska Ziska, Andreas Engel, Stephan Sala, Timo Keber, Harald Bönisch, Elliot Atlas, Kirstin Krüger, Martyn Chipperfield, Valery Catoire, Azizan A. Samah, Marcel Dorf, Phang Siew Moi, Hans Schlager, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16955–16984, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16955-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16955-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Bromoform is a stratospheric ozone-depleting gas released by seaweed and plankton transported to the stratosphere via convection in the tropics. We study the chemical interactions of bromoform and its derivatives within convective clouds using a cloud-scale model and observations. Our findings are that soluble bromine gases are efficiently washed out and removed within the convective clouds and that most bromine is transported vertically to the upper troposphere in the form of bromoform.
Clara M. Nussbaumer, Uwe Parchatka, Ivan Tadic, Birger Bohn, Daniel Marno, Monica Martinez, Roland Rohloff, Hartwig Harder, Flora Kluge, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Florian Obersteiner, Martin Zöger, Raphael Doerich, John N. Crowley, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6759–6776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6759-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6759-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
NO2 plays a central role in atmospheric photochemical processes and requires accurate measurements. This research presents NO2 data obtained via chemiluminescence using a photolytic converter from airborne studies around Cabo Verde and laboratory investigations. We show the limits and error-proneness of a conventional blue light converter in aircraft measurements affected by humidity and NO levels and suggest the use of an alternative quartz converter for more reliable results.
Meike K. Rotermund, Vera Bense, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Andreas Engel, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Peter Hoor, Tilman Hüneke, Timo Keber, Flora Kluge, Benjamin Schreiner, Tanja Schuck, Bärbel Vogel, Andreas Zahn, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15375–15407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne total bromine (Brtot) and tracer measurements suggest Brtot-rich air masses persistently protruded into the lower stratosphere (LS), creating a high Brtot region over the North Atlantic in fall 2017. The main source is via isentropic transport by the Asian monsoon and to a lesser extent transport across the extratropical tropopause as quantified by a Lagrange model. The transport of Brtot via Central American hurricanes is also observed. Lastly, the impact of Brtot on LS O3 is assessed.
Marc Schwaerzel, Dominik Brunner, Fabian Jakub, Claudia Emde, Brigitte Buchmann, Alexis Berne, and Gerrit Kuhlmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6469–6482, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6469-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6469-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
NO2 maps from airborne imaging remote sensing often appear much smoother than one would expect from high-resolution model simulations of NO2 over cities, despite the small ground-pixel size of the sensors. Our case study over Zurich, using the newly implemented building module of the MYSTIC radiative transfer solver, shows that the 3D effect can explain part of the smearing and that building shadows cause a noticeable underestimation and noise in the measured NO2 columns.
Jonas Witthuhn, Anja Hünerbein, Florian Filipitsch, Stefan Wacker, Stefanie Meilinger, and Hartwig Deneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14591–14630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14591-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14591-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of aerosol–radiation interactions is important for understanding the climate system and for the renewable energy sector. Here, two complementary approaches are used to assess the consistency of the underlying aerosol properties and the resulting radiative effect in clear-sky conditions over Germany in 2015. An approach based on clear-sky models and broadband irradiance observations is contrasted to the use of explicit radiative transfer simulations using CAMS reanalysis data.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Stefan Geiss, Leonhard Scheck, Alberto de Lozar, and Martin Weissmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12273–12290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12273-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12273-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study demonstrates the benefits of using both visible and infrared satellite channels to evaluate clouds in numerical weather prediction models. Combining these highly resolved observations provides significantly more and complementary information than using only infrared observations. The visible observations are particularly sensitive to subgrid water clouds, which are not well constrained by other observations.
Hartwig Deneke, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Sebastian Bley, Anja Hünerbein, Stephan Lenk, Andreas Macke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt, Fabian Senf, Ping Wang, Frank Werner, and Jonas Witthuhn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5107–5126, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5107-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5107-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The SEVIRI instrument flown on the European geostationary Meteosat satellites acquires multi-spectral images at a relatively coarse pixel resolution of 3 × 3 km2, but it also has a broadband high-resolution visible channel with 1 × 1 km2 spatial resolution. In this study, the modification of an existing cloud property and solar irradiance retrieval to use this channel to improve the spatial resolution of its output products as well as the resulting benefits for applications are described.
Florian Ewald, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Julien Delanoë, Stuart Fox, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5029–5047, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we show how solar radiance observations can be used to validate and further constrain ice cloud microphysics retrieved from the synergy of radar–lidar measurements. Since most radar–lidar retrievals rely on a global assumption about the ice particle shape, ice water content and particle size biases are to be expected in individual cloud regimes. In this work, we identify and correct these biases by reconciling simulated and measured solar radiation reflected from these clouds.
Nina Črnivec and Bernhard Mayer
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 3663–3682, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3663-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3663-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to advance the cloud–radiation interplay treatment in global weather and climate prediction, focusing on cloud horizontal inhomogeneity misrepresentation. We explore the potential of the Tripleclouds method for diverse cloud types, namely the stratocumulus, cirrus and cumulonimbus. The validity of global cloud variability estimate with various condensate distribution assumptions is assessed. Optimizations for overcast and extremely heterogeneous cloudiness are further endorsed.
Cited articles
Abe, C. F., Dias, J. B., Notton, G., and Poggi, P.: Computing Solar Irradiance and Average Temperature of Photovoltaic Modules from the Maximum Power Point Coordinates, IEEE J. Photovolt., 10, 655–663, https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2020.2966362, 2020. a, b
Alonso-Abella, M., Chenlo, F., Nofuentes, G., and Torres-Ramírez, M.: Analysis of spectral effects on the energy yield of different PV (photovoltaic) technologies: The case of four specific sites, Energy, 67, 435–443, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.01.024, 2014. a
Baldauf, M., Seifert, A., Förstner, J., Majewski, D., Raschendorfer, M., and Reinhardt, T.: Operational Convective-Scale Numerical Weather Prediction with the COSMO Model: Description and Sensitivities, Mon. Weather Rev., 139, 3887–3905, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-10-05013.1, 2011. a, b
Barry, J., Böttcher, D., Pfeilsticker, K., Herman-Czezuch, A., Kimiaie, N., Meilinger, S., Schirrmeister, C., Deneke, H., Witthuhn, J., and Gödde, F.: Dynamic model of photovoltaic module temperature as a function of atmospheric conditions, Adv. Sci. Res., 17, 165–173, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-165-2020, 2020. a, b, c, d, e, f
Barry, J., Gödde, F., Grabenstein, J., and Herman-Czezuch, A.: jamesmhbarry/PVRAD: Supplement to “Irradiance and cloud optical properties from solar photovoltaic systems”, Version v1.0.0, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8336425, 2023a. a, b
Barry, J., Meilinger, S., Pfeilsticker, K., Herman-Czezuch, A., Kimiaie, N., Schirrmeister, C., Yousif, R., Buchmann, T., Grabenstein, J., Deneke, H., Witthuhn, J., Emde, C., Gödde, F., Mayer, B., Scheck, L., Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., Hofbauer, P., and Struck, M.: Datasets for “Irradiance and cloud optical properties from solar photovoltaic systems” (final version), Version 2.0.0, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8335791, 2023b. a, b
Becker, R. and Behrens, K.: Quality assessment of heterogeneous surface radiation network data, Adv. Sci. Res., 8, 93–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-8-93-2012, 2012. a
Boers, R.: Simultaneous retrievals of cloud optical depth and droplet concentration from solar irradiance and microwave liquid water path, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 102, 29881–29891, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD02494, 1997. a
Boers, R., van Lammeren, A., and Feijt, A.: Accuracy of Cloud Optical Depth Retrievals from Ground-Based Pyranometers, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 17, 916–927, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2000)017<0916:AOCODR>2.0.CO;2, 1999. a
Buchmann, T.: Potenzial von Photovoltaikanlagen zur Ableitung raum-zeitlich hoch aufgelöster Globalstrahlungsdaten, PhD thesis, Heidelberg University, https://doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00024687, 2018. a, b, c
Buras, R., Dowling, T., and Emde, C.: New secondary-scattering correction in DISORT with increased efficiency for forward scattering, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 112, 2028–2034, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2011.03.019, 2011. a
Carrasco, M., Mancilla-David, F., and Ortega, R.: An Estimator of Solar Irradiance in Photovoltaic Arrays With Guaranteed Stability Properties, IEEE T. Ind. Electron., 61, 3359–3366, https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2013.2281154, 2014. a
Črnivec, N. and Mayer, B.: Quantifying the bias of radiative heating rates in numerical weather prediction models for shallow cumulus clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8083–8100, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8083-2019, 2019. a
De Soto, W., Klein, S. A., and Beckman, W. A.: Improvement and validation of a model for photovoltaic array performance, Sol. Energy, 80, 78–88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2005.06.010, 2006. a, b
Deneke, H.: Influence of clouds on the solar radiation budget, PhD thesis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, https://www.knmi.nl/research/publications/influence-of-clouds-on-the-solar-radiation-budget (last access: 16 October 2023), 2002. a
Dows, R. N. and Gough, E. J.: PVUSA model technical specification for a turnkey photovoltaic power system, Department of Energy, Technical Report no. DOE/AL/82993-27, https://doi.org/10.2172/172103, 1995. a, b, c
Duffie, J. A. and Beckman, W. A.: Radiation Transmission through Glazing: Absorbed Radiation, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chap. 5, 202–235, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118671603.ch5, 2013. a, b, c
Elsinga, B., van Sark, W., and Ramaekers, L.: Inverse photovoltaic yield model for global horizontal irradiance reconstruction, Energy Sci. Eng., 5, 226–239, https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.162, 2017. a
Emde, C., Buras-Schnell, R., Kylling, A., Mayer, B., Gasteiger, J., Hamann, U., Kylling, J., Richter, B., Pause, C., Dowling, T., and Bugliaro, L.: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations (version 2.0.1), Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 1647–1672, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1647-2016, 2016. a, b
Engerer, N. and Mills, F.: KPV: A clear-sky index for photovoltaics, Sol. Energy, 105, 679–693, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2014.04.019, 2014. a, b
Evans, D. and Florschuetz, L.: Cost studies on terrestrial photovoltaic power systems with sunlight concentration, Sol. Energy, 19, 255–262, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(77)90068-8, 1977. a
Faiman, D.: Assessing the Outdoor Operating Temperature of Photovoltaic Modules, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 16, 307–315, https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.813, 2008. a, b, c
Halilovic, S., Bright, J. M., Herzberg, W., and Killinger, S.: An analytical approach for estimating the global horizontal from the global tilted irradiance, Sol. Energy, 188, 1042–1053, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2019.06.027, 2019. a
Herman-Czezuch, A., Mekeng, A. Z., Meilinger, S., Barry, J., and Kimiaie, N.: Impact of aerosols on photovoltaic energy production using a spectrally resolved model chain: Case study of southern West Africa, Renewable Energy, 194, 321–333, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.04.166, 2022. a
Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Tanré, D., Buis, J. P., Setzer, A., Vermote, E., Reagan, J. A., Kaufman, Y. J., Nakajima, T., Lavenu, F., Jankowiak, I., and Smirnov, A.: AERONET—A Federated Instrument Network and Data Archive for Aerosol Characterization, Remote Sens. Environ., 66, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(98)00031-5, 1998. a, b
Holm, L. M.: Photovoltaik in Deutschland, Strom-Report, https://strom-report.com/photovoltaik/ (last access: 17 October 2023), 2023. a
Hu, Y. X. and Stamnes, K.: An Accurate Parameterization of the Radiative Properties of Water Clouds Suitable for Use in Climate Models, J. Climate, 6, 728–742, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<0728:AAPOTR>2.0.CO;2, 1993. a, b
Huld, T., Friesen, G., Skoczek, A., Kenny, R. P., Sample, T., Field, M., and Dunlop, E. D.: A power-rating model for crystalline silicon PV modules, Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C., 95, 3359–3369, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2011.07.026, 2011. a
Kato, S., Ackerman, T. P., Mather, J. H., and Clothiaux, E. E.: The k-distribution method and correlated-k approximation for a shortwave radiative transfer model, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 62, 109–121, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4073(98)00075-2, 1999. a
Killinger, S., Braam, F., Müller, B., Wille-Haussmann, B., and McKenna, R.: Projection of power generation between differently-oriented PV systems, Sol. Energy, 136, 153–165, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2016.06.075, 2016. a, b, c
King, D. L., Boyson, W. E., and Kratochvil, J. A.: Photovoltaic array performance model, Technical Report Number: SAND2004-3535, Sandia National Laboratories, https://doi.org/10.2172/920449, 2004. a
King, D. L., Gonzalez, S., Galbraith, G. M., and Boyson, W. E.: Performance Model for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Inverters, Technical Report Number: SAND2007-5036, Sandia National Laboratories, https://doi.org/10.2172/920449, 2007. a
Klein, S.: Calculation of the monthly-average transmittance-absorptance product, Sol. Energy, 23, 547–551, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(79)90083-5, 1979. a
Klüser, L., Killius, N., and Gesell, G.: APOLLO_NG – a probabilistic interpretation of the APOLLO legacy for AVHRR heritage channels, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4155–4170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4155-2015, 2015. a, b
Kriebel, K. T., Gesell, G., Kästner, M., and Mannstein, H.: The cloud analysis tool APOLLO: Improvements and validations, Int. J. Remote Sens., 24, 2389–2408, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160210163065, 2003. a
Laudani, A., Fulginei, F. R., Salvini, A., Carrasco, M., and Mancilla-David, F.: A fast and effective procedure for sensing solar irradiance in photovoltaic arrays, in: 2016 IEEE 16th International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering (EEEIC), Florence, Italy, 7–10 June 2016, IEEE, 1–4, https://doi.org/10.1109/EEEIC.2016.7555541, 2016. a
Leontyeva, E. and Stamnes, K.: Estimations of Cloud Optical Thickness from Ground-Based Measurements of Incoming Solar Radiation in the Arctic, J. Climate, 7, 566–578, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1994)007<0566:EOCOTF>2.0.CO;2, 1994. a, b, c
Mandija, F., Chavez-Perez, V. M., Nieto, R., Sicard, M., Danylevsky, V., Añel, J. A., and Gimeno, L.: The climatology of dust events over the European continent using data of the BSC-DREAM8b model, Atmos. Res., 209, 144–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.03.006, 2018. a
Marion, B. and Smith, B.: Photovoltaic system derived data for determining the solar resource and for modeling the performance of other photovoltaic systems, Sol. Energy, 147, 349–357, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2017.03.043, 2017. a, b
Matricardi, M.: The inclusion of aerosols and clouds in RTIASI, the ECMWF fast radiative transfer model for the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer, ECMWF, Technical memorandum no. 474, https://doi.org/10.21957/1krvb28ql, 2005. a
Mayer, B.: Radiative transfer in the cloudy atmosphere, EPJ Web Conf., 1, 75–99, https://doi.org/10.1140/epjconf/e2009-00912-1, 2009. a
Mayer, B. and Kylling, A.: Technical note: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations – description and examples of use, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 1855–1877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-1855-2005, 2005. a, b
McArthur, L. J. B.: Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), Operations Manual, Version 2.1, World Climate Research Programme, Downsview, Ontario, WCRP-121, WMO/TD-No. 1274, 1–176, https://bsrn.awi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bsrn.awi.de/Publications/McArthur.pdf (last access: 26 June 2023), 2005. a
Meilinger, S., Herman-Czezuch, A., Kimiaie, N., Schirrmeister, C., Yousif, R., Geiss, S., Scheck, L., Weissmann, M., Gödde, F., Mayer, B., Zinner, T., Barry, J., Pfeilsticker, K., Kraiczy, M., Winter, K., Altayara, A., Reise, C., Rivera, M., Deneke, H., Witthuhn, J., Betcke, J., Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., Hofbauer, P., and Rindt, B.: Development of innovative satellite-based methods for improved PV yield prediction on different time scales for distribution grid level applications (MetPVNet), Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Internationales Zentrum für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (IZNE), Sankt Augustin, IZNE Working Paper Series No. 21/4, https://doi.org/10.18418/978-3-96043-094-0, 2021a. a
Meilinger, S., Herman-Czezuch, A., Kimiaie, N., Schirrmeister, C., Yousif, R., Geiss, S., Scheck, L., Weissmann, M., Gödde, F., Mayer, B., Zinner, T., Barry, J., Pfeilsticker, K., Kraiczy, M., Winter, K., Altayara, A., Reise, C., Rivera, M., Deneke, H., Witthuhn, J., Betcke, J., Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., Hofbauer, P., and Rindt, B.: Entwicklung innovativer satellitengestützter Methoden zur verbesserten PV-Ertragsvorhersage auf verschiedenen Zeitskalen für Anwendungen auf Verteilnetzebene BT – Schlussbericht, 1–180, https://doi.org/10.18418/opus-5955, 2021b. a, b, c, d
Mertens, K.: Photovoltaics: Fundamentals, Technology and Practice, 1st edn., John Wiley & Sons Ltd, ISBN 978-1-118-63416-5, 2014. a
Nakajima, T. and King, M. D.: Determination of the Optical Thickness and Effective Particle Radius of Clouds from Reflected Solar Radiation Measurements. Part I: Theory, J. Atmos. Sci., 47, 1878–1893, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047<1878:DOTOTA>2.0.CO;2, 1990. a
Nespoli, L. and Medici, V.: An unsupervised method for estimating the global horizontal irradiance from photovoltaic power measurements, Sol. Energy, 158, 701–710, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2017.10.039, 2017. a
Ohmura, A., Dutton, E. G., Forgan, B., Fröhlich, C., Gilgen, H., Hegner, H., Heimo, A., König-Langlo, G., McArthur, B., Müller, G., Philipona, R., Pinker, R., Whitlock, C. H., Dehne, K., and Wild, M.: Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN/WCRP): New Precision Radiometry for Climate Research, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2115–2136, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079<2115:BSRNBW>2.0.CO;2, 1998. a, b
Perez, R., Ineichen, P., Maxwell, E., Seals, R., and Zelenka, A.: Dynamic global-to-direct irradiance conversion model, ASHRAE Tran., 98, 354–369, 1992. a
Qu, Z., Oumbe, A., Blanc, P., Espinar, B., Gesell, G., Gschwind, B., Klüser, L., Lefèvre, M., Saboret, L., Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., and Wald, L.: Fast radiative transfer parameterisation for assessing the surface solar irradiance: The Heliosat-4 method, Meteorol. Z., 26, 33–57, https://doi.org/10.1127/metz/2016/0781, 2017. a, b
Rivera Aguilar, M. J. and Reise, C.: Silicon Sensors vs. Pyranometers – Review of Deviations and Conversion of Measured Values, in: 37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Online, 1449–1454, https://doi.org/10.4229/EUPVSEC20202020-5BV.3.3, 2020. a
Rodgers, C. D.: Inverse Methods for Atmospheric Sounding, World Scientific, 2, 256 pp., https://doi.org/10.1142/3171, 2000. a
Saint-Drenan, Y.-M.: A Probabilistic Approach to the Estimation of Regional Photovoltaic Power Generation using Meteorological Data Application of the Approach to the German Case, Dissertation, University of Kassel, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hebis:34-2016090550868 (last access: 17 October 2023), 2015. a
Saint-Drenan, Y. M., Bofinger, S., Fritz, R., Vogt, S., Good, G. H., and Dobschinski, J.: An empirical approach to parameterizing photovoltaic plants for power forecasting and simulation, Sol. Energy, 120, 479–493, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2015.07.024, 2015. a
Sauer, D. U.: Untersuchungen zum Einsatz und Entwicklung von Simulationsmodellen für die Auslegung von Photovoltaik-Systemen, Diplomarbeit, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1833.7366, 1994. a, b
Schade, N. H., Macke, A., Sandmann, H., and Stick, C.: Enhanced solar global irradiance during cloudy sky conditions, Meteorol. Z., 16, 295–303, https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2007/0206, 2007. a, b
Scheck, L., Weissmann, M., and Mayer, B.: Efficient Methods to Account for Cloud-Top Inclination and Cloud Overlap in Synthetic Visible Satellite Images Efficient Methods to Account for Cloud-Top Inclination and Cloud Overlap in Synthetic Visible Satellite Images, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 35, 665–685, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0057.1, 2018. a
Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., Azam, F., Betcke, J., Hanrieder, N., Lefèvre, M., Saboret, L., and Saint-Drenan, Y.: Surface solar irradiation retrieval from MSG/SEVIRI based on APOLLO Next Generation and HELIOSAT‑4 methods, Meteorol. Z., 31, 455–476, https://doi.org/10.1127/metz/2022/1132, 2022. a
Scolari, E., Sossan, F., and Paolone, M.: Photovoltaic-model-based solar irradiance estimators: Performance comparison and application to maximum power forecasting, IEEE T. Sustain. Energ., 9, 35–44, https://doi.org/10.1109/TSTE.2017.2714690, 2018. a
Shockley, W.: The theory of p-n junctions in semiconductors and p-n junction transistors, Bell Syst. Tech. J., 28, 435–489, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-7305.1949.tb03645.x, 1949. a
Sjerps-Koomen, E. A., Alsema, E. A., and Turkenburg, W. C.: A simple model for PV module reflection losses under field conditions, Sol. Energy, 57, 421–432, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-092X(96)00137-5, 1996. a, b
Skoplaki, E. and Palyvos, J.: On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic module electrical performance: A review of efficiency/power correlations, Sol. Energy, 83, 614–624, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLENER.2008.10.008, 2009. a, b, c, d
Stamnes, K., Tsay, S.-C., Wiscombe, W., and Jayaweera, K.: Numerically stable algorithm for discrete-ordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layered media, Appl. Optics, 27, 2502, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.27.002502, 1988. a
Stephens, G. L., Ackerman, S., and Smith, E. A.: A Shortwave Parameterization Revised to Improve Cloud Absorption, J. Atmos. Sci., 41, 687–690, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1984)041<0687:ASPRTI>2.0.CO;2, 1984. a
TamizhMani, G., Ji, L., Tang, Y., Petacci, L., and Osterwald, C.: Photovoltaic Module Thermal/Wind Performance: Long-Term Monitoring and Model Development for Energy Rating, NCPV and Solar Program Review Meeting Proceedings, Denver, Colorado 24–26 March 2003, CD-ROM, https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15006842 (last access: 17 October 2023), 2003. a, b
Urraca, R., Huld, T., Gracia-Amillo, A., Martinez-de Pison, F. J., Kaspar, F., and Sanz-Garcia, A.: Evaluation of global horizontal irradiance estimates from ERA5 and COSMO-REA6 reanalyses using ground and satellite-based data, Sol. Energy, 164, 339–354, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.02.059, 2018. a, b, c
Yang, D. and Bright, J. M.: Worldwide validation of 8 satellite-derived and reanalysis solar radiation products: A preliminary evaluation and overall metrics for hourly data over 27 years, Sol. Energy, 210, 3–19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.04.016, 2020. a, b
Zubler, E. M., Lohmann, U., Lüthi, D., and Schär, C.: Intercomparison of aerosol climatologies for use in a regional climate model over Europe, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L15705, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048081, 2011. a, b, c, d
Short summary
Measured power data from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems contain information about the state of the atmosphere. In this work, power data from PV systems in the Allgäu region in Germany were used to determine the solar irradiance at each location, using state-of-the-art simulation and modelling. The results were validated using concurrent measurements of the incoming solar radiation in each case. If applied on a wider scale, this algorithm could help improve weather and climate models.
Measured power data from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems contain information about the state of...
