FY 1997

Closure in tropospheric aerosol-climate research: A review and future needs for addressing aerosol direct shortwave radiative forcing

Quinn, P.K., T.L. Anderson, T.S. Bates, R. Dlugi, J. Heintzenberg, W. von Hoyningen-Huene, M. Kulmala, P.B. Russell, and E. Swietlicki

Contrib. Atmos. Phys./Beitr. Phys. Atmosph., 69(4), 547–577 (1996)

Closure studies offer one approach for reducing the uncertainties associated with estimating the radiative forcing by tropospheric aerosols. A closure experiment involves an overdetermined set of observations such that the measured value of an important system property can be compared to a value calculated with an appropriate model based on independent measurements. This paper discusses how the concept of closure can be used to identify and reduce the uncertainties involved in calculating the direct shortwave radiative forcing by anthropogenic aerosols. It includes a review of the successes and shortcomings of previously published closure experiments as well as proposals for future closure experiments.