An Improved Ocean Surface Albedo Computational Scheme: Structure and Performance

Ocean surface albedo (OSA) is an important factor for the transfer of radiation in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system. By resolving the spectral variations of the reflective properties for incident direct and diffuse solar radiation, we develop an OSA computational scheme to study the impact of ocean biogeochemistry on the air-sea boundary condition of solar radiative transfer in the atmosphere. The new scheme is implemented for the General Circulation Model applications of the shortwave rapid radiative transfer model RRTMG_SW, a radiative transfer model used extensively in regional and global models. We show that a number of OSA schemes lead to underestimated results in comparison with in-situ measurements obtained at a site 25 km east of Virginia Beach. The scheme developed in this study considers multiple influential factors and is robust in terms of the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and the root mean square error in comparison with in-situ measurements. Furthermore, the new simulations are highly consistent with the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) OSA distribution on a global scale. However, the theoretical results show slight differences compared with the CERES OSA under all sky conditions and overestimate the OSA in the subpolar Southern Ocean under clear sky conditions. The assumption of a uniform phase function, which neglects the spatial variability of the optical properties of oceanic particles, is largely responsible for the primary source of uncertainties in an OSA scheme.