Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 1 December 1989:
Vol. 246. no. 4934, pp. 1146 - 1149
DOI: 10.1126/science.246.4934.1146
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Direct and Remote Sensing Observations of the Effects of Ships on Clouds

LAWRENCE F. RADKE 1, JAMES A. COAKLEY JR. 2, and MICHAEL D. KING 3

1 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
2 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
3 Laboratory for Atmospheres, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.

Under certain conditions ships can affect the structure of shallow layer clouds. Simultaneous observations of two ship track signatures in stratus clouds from a satellite and in situ from an aircraft show that in the ship tracks the droplet sizes were reduced and total concentrations of both droplets and particles were substantially increased from those in adjacent clouds. In situ measurements of the upwelling radiance within the ship tracks was significantly enhanced at visible wavelengths, whereas radiance at 2.2 micrometers was significantly reduced. Cloud reflectivity along the tracks was enhanced at 0.63 and 3.7 micrometers. These observations support the contention that ship track signatures in clouds are produced primarily by particles emitted from ships.

Submitted on June 26, 1989
Accepted on October 2, 1989


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Flood or Drought: How Do Aerosols Affect Precipitation?.
D. Rosenfeld, U. Lohmann, G. B. Raga, C. D. O'Dowd, M. Kulmala, S. Fuzzi, A. Reissell, and M. O. Andreae (2008)
Science 321, 1309-1313
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Simultaneous observations of aerosol-cloud-albedo interactions with three stacked unmanned aerial vehicles.
G. C. Roberts, M. V. Ramana, C. Corrigan, D. Kim, and V. Ramanathan (2008)
PNAS 105, 7370-7375
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Influence of anthropogenic aerosol on cloud optical depth and albedo shown by satellite measurements and chemical transport modeling.
S. E. Schwartz, Harshvardhan, and C. M. Benkovitz (2002)
PNAS 99, 1784-1789
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Reduction of Tropical Cloudiness by Soot.
A. S. Ackerman, O. B. Toon, D. E. Stevens, A. J. Heymsfield, V. Ramanathan, and E. J. Welton (2000)
Science 288, 1042-1047
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Suppression of Rain and Snow by Urban and Industrial Air Pollution.
D. Rosenfeld (2000)
Science 287, 1793-1796
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Dissipation of Marine Stratiform Clouds and Collapse of the Marine Boundary Layer Due to the Depletion of Cloud Condensation Nuclei by Clouds.
A. S. Ackerman, O. B. Toon, and P. V. Hobbs (1993)
Science 262, 226-229
   Abstract »    PDF »
Climate Forcing by Anthropogenic Aerosols.
R. J. Charlson, R. J. CHARLSON, S. E. SCHWARTZ, J. M. HALES, R. D. CESS, J. A. COAKLEY JR., J. E. HANSEN, and D. J. HOFMANN (1992)
Science 255, 423-430
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)