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Originally published in Science Express on 13 July 2006
Science 4 August 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5787, pp. 655 - 658
DOI: 10.1126/science.1126232
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Reports

Smoke and Pollution Aerosol Effect on Cloud Cover

Yoram J. Kaufman1 and Ilan Koren2*

Pollution and smoke aerosols can increase or decrease the cloud cover. This duality in the effects of aerosols forms one of the largest uncertainties in climate research. Using solar measurements from Aerosol Robotic Network sites around the globe, we show an increase in cloud cover with an increase in the aerosol column concentration and an inverse dependence on the aerosol absorption of sunlight. The emerging rule appears to be independent of geographical location or aerosol type, thus increasing our confidence in the understanding of these aerosol effects on the clouds and climate. Preliminary estimates suggest an increase of 5% in cloud cover.

1 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, 613.2, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
2 Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ilan.koren{at}weizmann.ac.il

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Smoke Invigoration Versus Inhibition of Clouds over the Amazon.
I. Koren, J. V. Martins, L. A. Remer, and H. Afargan (2008)
Science 321, 946-949
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)