Assessments of Aerosol and Cloud Properties among Observations and Models during the NASA ORACLES Field Campaign

The prevalent coexistence of African biomass burning aerosols and clouds in Austral winter seasons over the southeast Atlantic provides natural laboratory for studying aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions. Aircraft measurements of aerosol and cloud properties during the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) field campaign have provided an unprecedented opportunity to improve and validate satellite retrievals and regional climate models. Specifically, the retrieval of above-cloud aerosol optical depths (ACAODs) and below-aerosol cloud optical depths (CODs) from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are compared against the Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4STAR) and Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) on board NASA P-3 and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) on board NASA ER-2. Aerosol and cloud properties from regional climate models such as WRF-CAM5, ALADIN, EAM-E3SM, GEOS-CHEM, and GEOS-5 with aerosol schemes are also compared against airborne measurements and satellite retrievals to evaluate and address the current model deficiencies in the southeast Atlantic. A preliminary estimate of the direct aerosol radiative effects over the southeast Atlantic will be presented.