Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 8, 8585–8628, 2008 Atmospheric www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/8585/2008/ Chemistry ACPD © Author(s) 2008. This work is distributed under and Physics 8, 8585–8628, 2008 the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Discussions SW aerosol radiative forcing over Portugal D. Santos et al. Direct SW aerosol radiative forcing over Title Page Portugal Abstract Introduction Conclusions References 1 1,2 1,2 D. Santos , M. J. Costa , and A. M. Silva Tables Figures 1Geophysics Centre of Evora,´ Univ. Evora,´ Evora,´ Portugal 2Departament of Physics, Univ. Evora,´ Evora,´ Portugal J I Received: 20 December 2007 – Accepted: 26 March 2008 – Published: 9 May 2008 J I Correspondence to: D. Santos (
[email protected]) Back Close Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. Full Screen / Esc Printer-friendly Version Interactive Discussion 8585 Abstract ACPD The estimation of radiative forcing due to desert dust and forest fires aerosols is a very important issue since these particles are very efficient at scattering and absorbing 8, 8585–8628, 2008 both short and longwave radiation. In this work, the evaluation of the aerosol radiative 5 forcing at the top of the atmosphere over the south of Portugal is made, particularly in SW aerosol radiative the regions of Evora´ and of Cabo da Roca. forcing over Portugal The radiative transfer calculations combine ground-based and satellite measure- ments, to estimate the top of the atmosphere direct SW aerosol radiative forcing. The D. Santos et al. method developed to retrieve the surface spectral reflectance is also presented, based 10 on ground-based measurements of the aerosol optical properties combined with the satellite-measured radiances.