Global quantification of the dispersion effect with POLDER satellite data

Hengqi Wang, Yiran Peng (), Antonio Noia, Huazhe Shang, Husi Letu, Bastiaan Diedenhoven, Otto P. Hasekamp, Yangang Liu and Johannes Quaas
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Hengqi Wang: Tsinghua University
Yiran Peng: Tsinghua University
Antonio Noia: University of Bremen
Huazhe Shang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Husi Letu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bastiaan Diedenhoven: SRON Space Research Organisation Netherlands
Otto P. Hasekamp: SRON Space Research Organisation Netherlands
Yangang Liu: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Johannes Quaas: Leipzig University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Increased aerosols can modify the shape of the cloud Particle Size Distribution (PSD), thereby influencing the radiative properties of clouds, known as the Dispersion Effect (DE). However, a global, observation-based quantification of its impact on Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (ACI) is lacking, leading to DE being typically ignored in satellite-based estimates of ACI forcing. Here we propose a physics-based method that combines polarimetric satellite data on cloud PSD to achieve global observational quantification of DE’s impact on ACI in liquid-phase stratiform clouds. Globally, DE offsets ACI changes induced by droplet number concentration variation and liquid water path adjustment by 7% and −1.4%, respectively. Furthermore, a parameterization based on the global dataset of PSD shape parameters is developed to improve DE estimation in large-scale models. Both the quantification and parameterization enhance our understanding of DE and facilitate the inclusion of this non-negligible impact of DE on ACI in estimating aerosol climate forcing.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62238-3

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