A form of the Fu-Liou radiative transfer code has been modified to include the CKD 2.4 (Clough) water vapor continuum in the LW and thermal bands from 2200-2850 cm-1. Additional modifications to the CERES NASA Langley Fu-Liou code allow for wavelength dependent profiles of aerosol optical depth AOD (as external mixtures of aerosol types) as input. The code is used to compute vertical the profiles of broadband SW, PAR, broadband LW, and 8-12 um window fluxes, including water vapor and aerosol inputs from the ground-based ARM SGP CART Raman lidar.

Calculations by Kratz have earlier shown significant changes in the vertical profile of LW cooling from the new CKD 2.4 continuum. The strong LW cooling due to water vapor in the upper troposphere (where radiosonde humidity sensors often do not perform well) is influenced by rotation bands and the continuum in the far IR (where spectrometers meet a comparable challenge). Here we compute fluxes at night with Raman lidar humidity, comparing with calculations using GOES-AERI humidity, and then matching both with clear-sky broadband LW and window observations of fluxes and radiances at TOA from CERES. For early mornings/late afternoons wherein sun photometer measurements indicate minimal change in AOD, the calculations are extended to SW heating profiles. The SW calculations are a pilot activity for CALYPSO, a forthcoming space lidar with an orbit that will partly coincide with CERES scans on the Aqua spacecraft