New ACP Letter: Natural marine cloud brightening in the Southern Ocean

1 February 2023

The number of cloud droplets per unit volume is a significantly important property of clouds that controls their reflective properties. Computer models of the Earth's atmosphere and climate have low skill at predicting the reflective properties of Southern Ocean clouds. Here the authors investigate the properties of those clouds using satellite data and find that the cloud droplet number and cloud albedo in the Southern Ocean are related to the oceanic phytoplankton abundance near Antarctica.

The press release by the University of Utah can be found at: https://attheu.utah.edu/uncategorized/antarcticas-ocean-brightens-clouds/

Contact: Gerald G. Mace (jay.mace@utah.edu)