K. Rutledge

A parameterization of ocean surface albedo

[1] Measurements at a sea platform show that the ocean surface albedo is highly variable and is sensitive to four physical parameters: solar zenith angle, wind speed, transmission by atmospheric cloud/aerosol, and ocean chlorophyll concentration. Using a validated coupled ocean-atmosphere radiative transfer model, an ocean albedo look up table is created in terms of these four important parameters. A code to read the table is also provided; it gives spectral albedos for a range of oceanic and atmospheric conditions specified by the user. The result is a fast and accurate parameterization of ocean surface albedo for radiative transfer and climate modeling. INDEX TERMS: 3359 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Radiative processes; 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 3339 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Ocean/ atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504); 4552 Oceanography: Physical: Ocean optics; 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere (0315, 0325). Citation: Jin, Z., T. P. Charlock, W. L. Smith Jr., and K. Rutledge (2004), A parameterization of ocean surface albedo, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L22301, doi:10.1029/ 2004GL021180.