Solar radiative forcing by biomass burning aerosol particles during SAFARI 2000: A case study based on measured aerosol and cloud properties

This study investigates the top of atmosphere (TOA) solar radiative forcing by biomass burning aerosol from the African continent. Radiative transfer calculations are based on airborne aerosol and cloud measurements made on 7 September 2000, being representative for the aerosol optical properties and the relative location of aerosol and clouds during Southern African Fire‐Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI) 2000. We focus on how the radiative effects of biomass aerosol are changed in the presence of clouds to the west of the southern African coastline. The typical scenario observed showed a clear separation between an elevated biomass aerosol layer (1.8–3.7 km altitude) and low‐level stratiform clouds (below 1 km, liquid water path 85 g m −2 ). The aerosol was characterized by particle concentrations of 1800 cm −3 and a single scattering albedo at 550 nm wavelength of around 0.90. Presuming no effect by the biomass aerosol on the clouds themselves, the presence of clouds converted the negative TOA forcing by the biomass aerosol in clear skies into a positive one (−13.0 W m −2 converted to +11.5 W m −2 for average optical properties of the biomass aerosol and a solar zenith angle of 60°). As biomass aerosol was found above cloud thousands of kilometers away from the southern African coastline, positive direct TOA forcings can be expected in extended sea areas over the Namibian cloud sheet. These results suggest errors in global climate model (GCM) modeling assessments of the direct radiative forcing due to biomass aerosols. Additionally, we estimate the possibility that a potential indirect effect dominates the overall forcing, resulting generally in strong negative TOA forcings.