The subtleties of three-dimensional radiative effects in contrails and cirrus clouds

Abstract. The radiative effect of cirrus, contrails, and contrail cirrus affects the energy budget of the Earth and climate change. Those clouds, and especially contrails, are heterogeneous and their holes and sides exert three-dimensional radiative effects. This study uses the htrdr Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to investigate the sensitivity of the cloud radiative effect (CRE) to the geometrical dimensions and optical depth of optically thin ice clouds (cloud optical depth < 4), with particular emphasis on three-dimensional radiative effects. When the Sun is at zenith, an increase in cloud optical depth causes a linear increase in shortwave (SW) CRE but a saturation of longwave (LW) CRE, causing the net CRE to change sign from positive to negative. The optical depth at which this change in sign occurs depends on the cloud geometry. 3D effects make the one-dimensional SW and LW CREs more positive for a Sun at zenith, reaching the same order of magnitude as the 1D CRE itself for clouds with high aspect ratios. The angular dependence of ice crystal scattering strongly increases shortwave CRE when solar zenith angle increases. 3D effects change sign from positive at zenith to negative at large zenith angles as the Sun’s rays interact more with the cloud sides. Integrating instantaneous CRE and 3D effects over selected days of the year indicates compensation of SW with LW 3D effects for some cloud orientations, but 3D effects remain important in some cases. These results suggest that the 3D structure of cirrus and contrails needs to be considered to finely quantify their CRE and radiative forcing.