16th Conference on Climate Variability and Change

P5.17

Multi-year observations of ocean albedo from a rigid marine platform

Charles Kendall Rutledge, NASA/LRC, Hampton, VA; and G. L. Schuster

Ocean albedo was determined from the 4 year radiation dataset contributed to the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) archive by the Chesapeake Lighthouse (CLH) site. Component upwelling and downwelling pyranometer observations were used for the albedo determinations. The CLH is a BSRN ocean site located on a rigid ocean platform approximately 14 miles from the coast of Virginia, USA.

The Long/Ackerman cloud coverage algorithm (LAA) was used to partition the dataset into different cloud regimes (LAA < 0.05: clear, LAA >0.95: overcast). Albedo over the ocean during clear and overcast regimes are presented with attention to wind and solar zenith angle effects.

A comparison to the oft-referenced work of Payne(1972) was performed. The clear-sky ocean albedo showed both a strong dependence for solar zenith angle and windspeed. For high sun altitudes, lower winds produced lower albedo. For low sun altitudes, lower winds produced higher albedo. For overcast sky conditions, no obvious dependence of albedo was observed for either windspeed or solar zenith angle. CLH albedo were universally lower compared to comparable data from Payne's work. The seven year Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View sensor (SeaWIFS) archive offers an objective method for comparing the Naraganset Bay site and the Virginia coastal ocean site of the two measurement sets.

Progress on a technique to correct the upwelling irradiances to accomodate purtubations caused by the ocean platform structure will also be presented.

The data, processed in a manner similar to Payne's historical work, allows for a direct comparison of the two ocean radiation datasets.

extended abstract  Extended Abstract (328K)

Supplementary URL: http://www-svg.larc.nasa.gov

Poster Session 5, Poster Session: Seasonal to Interannual Variability
Thursday, 13 January 2005, 9:45 AM-11:00 AM

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