Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 9 3 2009 10.5194/acpd-9-12675-2009 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/12675/2009/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/12675/2009/acpd-9-12675-2009.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/12675/2009/acpd-9-12675-2009.pdf 12675 12706 2009-06-03 Impact of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide on the regional radiation budget A. P. Vasilkov alexander_vassilkov@ssaihq.com J. Joiner L. Oreopoulos J. F. Gleason P. Veefkind E. Bucsela E. A. Celarier R. J. D. Spurr S. Platnick Science Systems and Applications Inc., Lanham, MD, USA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), de Bilt, The Netherlands SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA RT Solutions, Cambridge, MA, USA Following the launch of several satellite ultraviolet and visible spectrometers including the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), much has been learned about the global distribution of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). NO₂, which is mostly anthropogenic in origin, absorbs solar radiation at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. We parameterized NO₂ absorption for fast radiative transfer calculations. Using this parameterization with cloud, surface, and NO₂ information from different sensors in the NASA A-train constellation of satellites and NO₂ profiles from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI), we compute the global distribution of net atmospheric heating due to tropospheric NO₂ for January and July 2005. We assess the impact of clouds and find that because most of N0₂ is contained in the boundary layer in polluted regions, the cloud shielding effect can significantly reduce the net atmospheric heating due to NO₂. We examine the effect of diurnal variations in NO₂ emissions and chemistry on net atmospheric heating and find only a small impact of these on the daily-averaged heating. While the impact of NO₂ on the global radiative forcing is small, locally it can produce instantaneous net atmospheric heating of 2–4 W/m² in heavily polluted areas. We also examine the sensitivity of NO₂ absorption to various geophysical conditions. 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